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Towns / Mississippi

Laurel, Mississippi

Laurel is a small town of about 17,700 people in Jones County, Mississippi. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New Orleans, is about 122 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
17,662
down 0.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$125,800
Jones County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$47,661
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Mississippi
83.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
South Central Reg Med Ctr
To New Orleans
122 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood130 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 29.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 7 elementary, 2 middle and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close bySouth Central Reg Med Ctr is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 122 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Laurel meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$125,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Jones County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$909 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,661U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,268 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
83.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas, not Laurel alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
17,6622020: 17,802
Median age
35.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (23%); schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: South Central Reg Med Ctr, Laurel, MS, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

12 public schools in Laurel, run by Laurel School District and Jones Co School Dist.

Colleges in or next to town: Southeastern Baptist College (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Mississippi's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
79%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
35°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
82 a year
Nights at or below freezing
41 a year
Rain and melted snow
59.6 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
286 feet

Weather station: Laurel (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Jackson, New Orleans.

Jones County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Laurel Central Historic District (Additional Documentation), Laurel Central Historic District (Boundary Increase/Decrease), the Oak Park School Complex and the Southside Neighborhood Historic District.

Campus life. Check Southeastern Baptist College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Laurel's history on Wikipedia.

Know Laurel?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Sharon, MS (unincorporated)1,910 people, 8 miles
  • Soso, MS416 people, 9 miles
  • Sandersville, MS622 people, 9 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.