IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Laurel, MS
Laurel is a small city of 17,679 people in Jones County, Mississippi. It's about 28 miles from Hattiesburg, MS and 187 miles from Birmingham, AL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 93°F and winter highs 60°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $126k and rent runs about $909 a month.
17,679people
$126kTypical home
$909/moRent
93° / 60°Summer / winter
0"Snow
246Sunny days
118Rain/snow days
Is Laurel right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small city of 17,679
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 958 people per sq mi
- 187 mi to Birmingham, AL
- 28 mi to Hattiesburg, MS
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $126k (≈$793/mo)
- Median rent $909/mo
- Median household income $48k
- Property tax about 1.0% of value
- 6.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 93°F
- Winter highs around 60°F
- Steamy summers (dew point 71°F)
- 246 sunny days a year (110 totally clear)
- 119 cloudy days a year
- 39 of 90 winter days are gray
- 118 days a year with rain or snow
- Basically no snow
- Snow days are rare
- 2 days a year over 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Above-average violent crime (699 per 100k)
- Above-average property crime (2,797 per 100k)
People
- Median age 35
- 30% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 22% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 18 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 19 mi to PIB airport
- 135 mi to MSY (major hub)
- 54 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 78% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1969
- 79% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 292 ft
- 87 mi to the ocean
- 121 mi to a big lake
- 75 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 11 mi to the nearest campground
- 2 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 43 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 24 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 2 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 46 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 40% of Mississippi districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 79 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 25 mi to the nearest vet
- 8 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 27 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Jones County: R+47 in 2024
- Mississippi: R+23 in 2024
Natural hazards
- High hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Low drought risk
- Very low winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk