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Place dossier plate
SheetMS-PETAL-MS · Petal, MS 11,195 pop · income 53rd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Petal
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Petal on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Canton · lowest
34,812
Canton · lowest
34,812 median HH income
15.8% of the leader · rank #1
Terminous · near
72,838
Terminous · near
72,838 median HH income
33.1% of the leader · rank #2
Pennville · near
72,842
Pennville · near
72,842 median HH income
33.1% of the leader · rank #3
Macedon · near
72,843
Macedon · near
72,843 median HH income
33.1% of the leader · rank #4
Petal · this city
72,845
Petal · this city
72,845 median HH income
33.1% of the leader · rank #5
Lansdowne · near
72,845
Lansdowne · near
72,845 median HH income
33.1% of the leader · rank #6
Lowes Island · highest
220,238
Lowes Island · highest
220,238 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Petal on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 11,195.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Petal - the verdict
Petal ranks in the 53rd percentile for household income and the 84th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
53rd
percentile, household income
31st
percentile, home value
0th
percentile, median rent
84th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Petal, MS
Petal is a small town in Mississippi, home to 11,195 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Petal report a median income of $72,845 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.8%. Typical homes in Petal are valued around $161,400, and the median resident age is 37.2 years. About 29.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 57.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 46 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 35% from five years earlier. Petal reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 521.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Mississippi run below the national norm: the state registers 87.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $924 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Mississippi, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 50.9 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Petal's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households to population change to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Petal, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Petal?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 83.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Which cities make useful reference points for Petal?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Mississippi, the closest population matches are Canton (10,863 residents, $34,812 income); Cleveland (10,855 residents, $43,519 income); Brookhaven (11,656 residents, $36,269 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Waipio, HI (11,196 residents); Lowes Island, VA (11,199 residents); Brooklyn, OH (11,203 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Petal?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 29.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Petal growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +627 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 46 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
11,067
2025 estimate
11,694
Period change
+5.7%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Petal?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 521.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 77% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
521.5
Violent rate
130.4
Property rate
391.1
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Above median income · poverty 10.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.0 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Mississippi average
C+
City profile score · Petal, MS
61/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
87.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime C+
130 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C-
$72,845
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Petal profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 87.0 index
Violent crime: 63/100 (C+) · 130 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 56/100 (C) · 29.1%
Household income: 52/100 (C-) · $72,845
Poverty rate: 37/100 (F) · 10.8%
Where Petal sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Petal's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Petal highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Petal, MS (this city): home $161,400, crime 522/100k
Prineville, OR : home $364,600, crime 971/100k
Grand Rapids, MN : home $200,600, crime 1,121/100k
Cleveland, MS : home $162,300, crime 3,227/100k
Picayune, MS : home $146,500, crime 2,884/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Petal compare to other US cities?
Here's how Petal stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income53% higher than other cities
Home value31% pricier than other cities
Median rent0% pricier than other cities
Safety84% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Mississippi, Petal ranks #4 of 56 Mississippi cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Petal against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Mississippi only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Mississippi-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Petal near the bottom of Mississippi's cities
Among the 395 Mississippi cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Petal ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Petal only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#47 of 345
86th percentile in Mississippi
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Mississippi
Median Home Value
#84 of 348
76th percentile in Mississippi
Poverty Rate
#254 of 393
35th percentile in Mississippi
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#66 of 394
83rd percentile in Mississippi
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Mississippi only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
53rd percentile nationally for median household income · 84th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Petal's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Petal's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Petal's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$161,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 69% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Petal's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,532 of 15,516
More affordable than 84% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#153 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.2×, Petal sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,532 of 15,516 and #153 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$72,845Petal, MS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Petal, MS median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Petal, MS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
11,195
Median Income
$72,845
Median Home Value
$161,400
Median Age
37.2
Poverty Rate
10.8%
Labor force participation
57.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
521.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
130.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
391.1
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Petal's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
11,067 residents
2021
11,144 residents
2022
11,288 residents
2023
11,394 residents
2024
11,593 residents
2025
11,694 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
46
housing units authorized
Single-Family
46
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
34
30
4
$5.9M
2020
70
57
13
$10.7M
2021
76
56
20
$9.9M
2022
51
32
19
$6.7M
2023
89
51
38
$12.7M
2024
46
46
0
$7.2M
Permit volume increased 35% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
83.7%
Carpool
10.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.5%
Work from Home
3.4%
Other
2.3%
Based on 5,042 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Mississippi statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Mississippi at $223 (electricity about $135 , water and sewer about $38 ).
These are Mississippi statewide averages, not a meter reading for Petal. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Mississippi's BEA cost-of-living index is 87.0 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Petal is $924/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Mississippi statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.9 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Mississippi statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Petal sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Petal compares to similar-size Mississippi cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.