| Official Name: | Petal, Mississippi |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | The Friendly City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Mississippi |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Forrest |
| Government Type: | Mayor-Council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Tony Ducker |
| Leader Title1: | State Representative |
| Leader Name1: | Larry Byrd[1] |
| Leader Title2: | State Senator |
| Leader Name2: | Chris Johnson |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 44.41 |
| Area Land Km2: | 43.44 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.97 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 17.15 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 16.77 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.38 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 11010 |
| Population Density Km2: | 253.48 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 656.49 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 48 |
| Elevation Ft: | 157 |
| Coordinates: | 31.3467°N -89.2556°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 39465 |
| Area Code: | 601 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 28-56800 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0675641 |
Petal is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, along the Leaf River. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 10,454 in the 2010 census,[3] increasing to 11,010 in the 2020 census.
The first postmaster of Petal was Irving A. Polk.[4] The post office was established in 1903[5] and was named after the daughter of a first settler.[6] It is the only city in the U.S. with this name.Petal incorporated on April 5, 1974. Petal was a community filled with farmers. This is slowly changing with new businesses coming into the city.
The International Checker Hall of Fame was located in Petal until September 29, 2007, when of the 35000square feet building caught fire.[7] [8]
Petal was extensively damaged by an EF3 tornado on January 21, 2017.[9]
As of the 2010 census, the city had a total area of 44.4sqkm, of which 43.7sqkm was land and 0.7sqkm, or 1.62%, was water.[10] The city's area had increased by nearly 75% since 2000, following an annexation effort approved in 2002. Major sub-communities as of the annex are Macedonia, Barrontown, Sunrise, and Leeville. The Harvey community (currently downtown Petal) hosts city departments.
As of the census of 2010, there were 10,454 people, 3,918 households, and 2,867 families residing in the city. The population density was 619.8 people per square mile. There were 4,261 housing units at an average density of 331.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 86.1% White, 9.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population.
There were 3,918 households, out of which 23.5% had own children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals under 18 and 26.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,637, and the median income for a family was $35,343. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $20,741 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,996. About 11.9% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
| Sex | 16+ | 18+ | 21+ | 62+ | 65+ | Median age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 3,702 | 3,537 | 3,325 | 730 | 596 | 35.8 | |
| Female | 4,269 | 4,107 | 3,914 | 1,034 | 844 | 33.8 | |
| Overall | 7,971 | 7,644 | 7,239 | 1,764 | 1,440 | 37.5 |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 8,198 | 74.5% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,602 | 14.6% | |
| Native American | 20 | 0.2% | |
| Asian | 85 | 0.8% | |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.0% | |
| Other/Mixed | 490 | 4.5% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 614 | 5.6% |
The city is served by the Petal School District.