IntelliMoveTake the quiz →
Big small town

Living in Petal, MS

Petal is a big small town of 11,294 people in Forrest County, Mississippi. It's about 6 miles from Hattiesburg, MS and 207 miles from Birmingham, AL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 92°F and winter highs 60°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $175k and rent runs about $1k a month.

11,294people
$175kTypical home
$1,047/moRent
92° / 60°Summer / winter
1"Snow
246Sunny days
117Rain/snow days

Is Petal right for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.

Take the quiz →Open in the app

Size & setting

  • Big small town of 11,294
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 668 people per sq mi
  • 207 mi to Birmingham, AL
  • 6 mi to Hattiesburg, MS
  • Has its own stores and services

Money

  • Typical home $175k (≈$1,103/mo)
  • Median rent $1,047/mo
  • Median household income $75k
  • Property tax about 0.9% of value
  • 4.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 92°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
  • 117 days a year with rain or snow
  • Basically no snow
  • Snow days are rare
  • 3 days a year over 100°F
  • Rarely drops below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • Very low violent crime (50 per 100k)
  • Very low property crime (780 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 37
  • 41% of households have kids
  • 15% are 65 or older
  • 28% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 5% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 23 min
  • 0% walk or take transit to work
  • 10 mi to PIB airport
  • 112 mi to MSY (major hub)
  • 77 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 82% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1977
  • 88% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 253 ft
  • 65 mi to the ocean
  • 100 mi to a big lake
  • 76 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 12 mi to the nearest campground
  • 7 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 122 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 3 bars within 25 mi
  • 54 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 3 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 9 museums within 25 mi
  • No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 48 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the top 19% of Mississippi districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 8 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 58 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 7 mi to the nearest vet
  • 2 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 10 congregations per 10k people
  • 5 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Forrest County: R+18 in 2024
  • Mississippi: R+23 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • High hurricane risk
  • High tornado risk
  • Moderate wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • High flood risk
  • Low drought risk
  • Very low winter storm risk
  • High heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Places near Petal

More places in Mississippi →