Leake County is a county in the center of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,275. Its county seat is Carthage. The county is named for Walter Leake, the Governor of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825.

Mississippi Highway 16 is a state highway in central Mississippi. It runs east–west for 186.4 miles (300.0 km), from the Mississippi Delta region to the Alabama state line. MS 16 serves 8 counties: Issaquena, Sharkey, Yazoo, Humphreys, Madison, Leake, Neshoba, and Kemper.