A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Grenada$800/mo

Typical home $132K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.96% · or rent about $802/mo · Housing →

Laurel$850/mo

Typical home $140K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.01% · or rent about $909/mo · Housing →

The difference: $50 a month, about $600 a year, between Laurel and Grenada.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Laurel places higher on 12 of 21 MS lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Mississippi ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

–GrenadaNot graded D−LaurelSafer than 3% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−GrenadaBetter than 47% of districts in the state BLaurelBetter than 61% of districts in the state

Health

DGrenadaHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns DLaurelHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns

9Grenada

12Laurel

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most walkableOutdoors · 104 towns #85#13 Best schoolsSchools · 92 towns #12#64 Highest graduation rateSchools · 93 towns #92#50 Most trailsOutdoors · 64 towns #43#17 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 104 towns #36#78 Most conserved landOutdoors · 94 towns #51#75 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 104 towns #51#77 Cheapest rentCost of living · 99 towns #32#51

Left end = #1 in Mississippi. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Grenada’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

GrenadaLaurel

Snow a year1″0″

January low31°F 35°F

July high92°F 93°F

Growing season (days)222d 244d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)78th 62nd

Outdoors & history

GrenadaLaurel

Trails6 mi 6 mi

Conserved land2%0.7%

Settled1836 1882

National Register places14 8

Archive photos—12

Community

GrenadaLaurel

Library hours a week37 hrs 52 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

150 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

GrenadaMS LaurelMS

Grenada ↔ Laurel150 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Mississippi average

GrenadaLaurel

People

Population 12,375Lowest 17,679Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -3%Highest -7.4%Lowest

Median age 37.4±1.9Highest 3% below MS 35.1±2.1Lowest 9% below MS

Grenada and Laurel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 24.5%±3.2Lowest MS: 23.3% 26.1%±4Highest MS: 23.3%

Laurel and Grenada are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 17.6%±2.3Highest MS: 17.2% 14.2%±1.9Lowest MS: 17.2%

Grenada and Laurel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 25.3%Highest MS: 25.1% 21.8%Lowest MS: 25.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7%±2.3Highest MS: 6.1% 3.2%±1.5Lowest MS: 6.1%

Grenada and Laurel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $46,303±$7kLowest 18% below MS $47,661±$6kHighest 16% below MS

Laurel and Grenada are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $145,600±$31kHighest 14% below MS $125,800±$28kLowest 26% below MS

Grenada and Laurel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $802±$90Lowest 16% below MS $909±$58Highest 5% below MS

Laurel and Grenada are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,398Highest 15% above MS $1,268Lowest 4% above MS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 51.6%±13.1Lowest MS: 51.3% 56.6%±12.6Highest MS: 51.3%

Laurel and Grenada are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 26.6%Highest MS: 18.9% 23.3%Lowest MS: 18.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 56.3%Lowest MS: 70% 63.2%Highest MS: 70%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976Highest 10 yrs older than MS 1969Lowest 17 yrs older than MS

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 17 minHighest 34% below MS 16 minLowest 36% below MS

Work from home 4.1%±3.5Lowest MS: 5.9% 5.6%±2.5Highest MS: 5.9%

Laurel and Grenada are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 45%Lowest 46.3%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 16.8 miHighest 5.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.69Lowest 3.05Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Greenwood (4%)Hattiesburg (8%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in LaurelFew work in Grenada

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2%Highest 0.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 5.8 miHighest 5.6 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Lowest 9Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 23.1Lowest 57.7Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #12 of 92 in MS #64 of 92 in MS

School district Grenada School DistrictJones County School District · Laurel School District

High school in town Grenada High SchoolLaurel High School

Students per teacherat that high school 13.4Lowest 17.2Highest

Mississippi average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Grenada neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Grenada’s Town Square.

Laurel neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Laurel’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Grenada and Laurel

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Grenada

+ Compare

Natchez14,192 people · $119K homes

+ Compare

Greenwood14,086 people · $109K homes

+ Compare

Vicksburg20,589 people · $126K homes

+ Compare

D'Iberville13,203 people · $210K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Mississippi towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Grenada vs Laurel

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

Laurel places higher on 12 of 21 MS lists

What daily life feels like in each

150 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Grenada and Laurel

Towns like Grenada

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