| Petal, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Location of Petal, Mississippi | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Forrest |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.7 sq mi (25.1 km2) |
| • Land | 9.7 sq mi (25.0 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 157 ft (48 m) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 10,617 |
| • Density | 783.8/sq mi (302.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 39465 |
| Area code(s) | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-56800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0675641 |
Petal is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States, along the Leaf River. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population is 10,617 per the US Census estimates performed in July 2007.
The American Checkers Federation is based in Petal. Tom Walters (safety for the Washington Redskins) is from Petal. University of Alabama football legend, Ray Perkins, attended Petal High School where he was an All-American. Petal is also the home town of Jerry Edwards, Executive Vice President of The Home Depot. The current mayor of Petal is Hal Marx.
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Petal is located at (31.346740, -89.255485).[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.7 square miles (25 km2), of which, 9.7 square miles (25 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.21%) is water. Following an annexation effort approved in 2002, the total area of the city is now estimated at 16.9 square miles (44 km2), according to a recent study by the firm Slaughter and Associates.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 7,579 people, 2,979 households, and 2,079 families residing in the city. The population density was 783.8 people per square mile (302.6/km²). There were 3,208 housing units at an average density of 331.7 per square mile (128.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.93% White, 4.43% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.53% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.
There were 2,979 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.
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.
The City of Petal is served by the Petal School District. The district has level 6 rated schools from K thru 12. Many parents are attracted to Petal for this reason.
The first postmaster of Petal was Irving A. Polk.[3] The post office was established in 1903 [4] and was named after the postmaster's daughter. It is the only city in the U.S. with this name. The city separated from the city of Hattiesburg, MS in the 1970s. Petal was a community filled with farmers. This is slowly changing with new business coming in to the city.
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