Petal, Mississippi

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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,<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved January 30, 2014.</ref> increasing to 11,010 in the 2020 census.<ref name="Census2020"/>

History

The first postmaster of Petal was Irving A. Polk.<ref>Gallagher, John S. and Patera, Alan H. (1996). Mississippi Post Offices, p. 247. Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, Template:ISBN.</ref> The post office was established in 1903<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was named after the daughter of a first settler.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed

The International Checker Hall of Fame was located in Petal until September 29, 2007, when Template:Convert of the Template:Convert building caught fire.<ref name="roads">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="sgt">Template:Cite web</ref>

Petal was extensively damaged by an EF3 tornado on January 21, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:January 21, 2017, Petal, Mississippi, tornado damage.jpg

January 21, 2017, Petal, Mississippi, tornado damage

Geography

As of the 2010 census, the city had a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert was land and Template:Convert, or 1.62%, was water.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> 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, Carterville, Sunrise, and Leeville. The Harvey community (currently downtown Petal) hosts city departments.

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2010 census

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

2020 Census

Petal racial composition<ref name="Census2020">Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
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%