OLIVE BRANCH is approximately 5 1/2 miles wide, east-to-west and 3 1/2 miles north-to-south with an area of 19 1/4 square miles. The City is bordered on the north by the Tennessee state line and on the west by the City of Southaven. From the census of 1990 until the 2000 census, OLIVE BRANCH'S population grew from 3,750 to over 21,000 making it the fastest growing city in the nation for the decade with a growth rate of nearly 600%. Predictions are that it will become the largest city in Desoto County by the time of the 2010 census. Having issued more single family building permits than any city in the county for each of the past ten years (and more than all of them combined for several of those years) and with a residential property sales average more than $40,000 higher than any other city in the county, OLIVE BRANCH has established itself as the choice residential area in North Mississippi.