LONG-TERM DEBT (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2002	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013 Unsecured Revolving Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Multi-Draw Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 U. S. Bank [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Federal Home Loan Bank [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Junior Subordinated Debt Securities of BancorpSouth Capital Trust I [Member]	Dec. 31, 2002 Junior Subordinated Debt Securities of BancorpSouth Capital Trust I [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Junior Subordinated Debt Securities									$ 128,900,000
Interest rate								8.15%	8.15%
Number of shares of trust preferred securities									5,000,000
Trust preferred securities, value per share									$ 25
Maturity date				Aug. 08, 2015	Aug. 08, 2018
Redemption date	Aug. 12, 2013
Write-off of unamortized issuance costs								2,900,000
Credit Agreement borrowing capacity		689,000		25,000,000	60,000,000
Long-term borrowings		81,714,000	33,500,000			48,200,000	33,500,000
Credit Agreement amount outstanding					$ 50,000,000