Welcome to Laurel ...
The city of Laurel is located in Jones County<1> and is the County Seat for Jones County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Laurel, you might consider that their post office opened in 1884.
When the people of Laurel refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use terms like Laurelite or Laurelian.<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Laurel has a population of 18,362 people<3> (see below for details).
Laurel is 280 feet [85 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Laurel lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Telephone area codes for Laurel: (601) & (769)<5>
Websites for Laurel ...
Official Website: www.laurelms.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Laurel had an population of 18,362 people. This is a decrease of 0.96% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 0.17% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Laurel had a population of 18,540 people (or 27.36% of the total population of Jones County). This makes Laurel the county's most populous community.
The population of Laurel represents 0.62% of the population of Mississippi (which has 2,967,297 people), making it the state's 22nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 18,540 people, the population of Laurel has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 18,393 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Laurel.
Communities Also Named Laurel ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 40 communities that are also named Laurel - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California (3), Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky (2), Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina (2), Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania (4), Quebec, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee (2), Texas, Virginia (3), Washington (2) and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Laurel.
Communities near Laurel ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Laurel.
- Ellisville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisville
- Ellisville is located in Jones County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,551 people
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Ellisville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellisville <6>
- Sandersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
- Sandersville is located in Jones County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Sandersville
- Heidelberg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Heidelberg is located in Jasper County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 651 people
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Heidelberg
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heidelberg <6>
- Soso
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
- Soso is located in Jones County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Soso
- Antioch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Antioch is located in Jones County
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Antioch
- Errata
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Errata have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errata
- Errata is located in Jones County
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Errata
- Moss
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
- Moss is located in Jasper County
- Moss has also been known as:
- Mossville
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Moss
- Amy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
- Amy is located in Jones County
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Amy
- Stringer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringer
- Stringer is located in Jasper County
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Stringer
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stringer <6>
- Vernon ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Laurel. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Laurel.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Laurel. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Laurel.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel. Our list includes 19 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Laurel.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Laurel ...
Looking for more information about Laurel? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Laurel, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Laurel.
Adding Laurel to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Laurel in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Laurel was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Laurel post office opened in 1884.
We also found Laurel in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Laurel.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Laurel: www.laurelms.com/
The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Mississippi's counties, including Jones, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Laurel refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Laurel may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Laurel. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Laurel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (769) is an overlay for area code (601). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |