Welcome to Petal ...

The city of Petal is located in Forrest County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Petal, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've found (so far) was on a map dated 1911.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, Petal has a population of 10,644 people<2> (see below for details).

Petal is 200 feet [61 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Petal lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Petal: 601 & 769<4>

The ZIP code for Petal: 39465<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Petal had an population of 10,644 people. This is an increase of 1.82% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 40.44% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Petal had a population of 10,454 people (which is 13.95% of the total population of Forrest County). This makes Petal the county's 2nd most populous community.

The population of Petal represents 0.35% of the population of Mississippi (which has 2,967,297 people), making it the state's 41st most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 10,454 people, the population of Petal increased 37.93% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 7,579 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Petal.

Communities near Petal ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Petal.

Ellisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisville
- Ellisville is located in Jones County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,551 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellisville <6>
Purvis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purvis have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purvis
- Purvis is located in Lamar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,398 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Purvis <6>
Sumrall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumrall
- Sumrall is located in Lamar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,926 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumrall <6>
Richton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richton
- Richton is located in Perry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richton <6>
New Augusta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Augusta have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Augusta
- New Augusta is located in Perry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Augusta <6>
Goodluck
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodluck
- Goodluck is located in Forrest County
West Hattiesburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Hattiesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hattiesburg
- West Hattiesburg is located in Lamar County
Lux
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lux
- Lux is located in Covington County
McLaurin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLaurin
- McLaurin is located in Forrest County
Ovett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovett
- Ovett is located in Jones County

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 Petal. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Petal.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Petal. 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 Petal.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Petal. See our Newspapers Page for Petal.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Petal ...

Looking for more information about Petal? 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 Petal, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Petal.

Adding Petal to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Petal 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 Petal was on a map titled Map of Mississippi (from Rand McNally, 1911).

We also found Petal on a map titled Shell Oil Road Map for Mississippi (1956).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Petal.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Petal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Forrest County: www.co.forrest.ms.us/

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 Forrest, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Petal.
<3>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Petal - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>	When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 601 code has been Overlayed with the 769 area code. New phone numbers in the Petal area will be assigned with one of these codes: 601 or 769. As a result, placing a call in the Petal area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Petal). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Petal or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<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.