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%

Laurel$850/mo

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

Grenada$800/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

12Laurel

9Grenada

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

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

Left end = #1 in Mississippi. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Laurel’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

LaurelGrenada

Snow a year0″1″

January low35°F 31°F

July high93°F 92°F

Growing season (days)244d 222d

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

Outdoors & history

LaurelGrenada

Trails6 mi 6 mi

Conserved land0.7%2%

Settled1882 1836

National Register places8 14

Archive photos12 —

Community

LaurelGrenada

Library hours a week52 hrs 37 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.

LaurelMS GrenadaMS

Laurel ↔ Grenada150 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

LaurelGrenada

People

Population 17,679Highest 12,375Lowest

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

Median age 35.1±2.1Lowest 9% below MS 37.4±1.9Highest 3% 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 26.1%±4Highest MS: 23.3% 24.5%±3.2Lowest 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+ 14.2%±1.9Lowest MS: 17.2% 17.6%±2.3Highest 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+ 21.8%Lowest MS: 25.1% 25.3%Highest MS: 25.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.2%±1.5Lowest MS: 6.1% 7%±2.3Highest 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 $47,661±$6kHighest 16% below MS $46,303±$7kLowest 18% 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 $125,800±$28kLowest 26% below MS $145,600±$31kHighest 14% 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 $909±$58Highest 5% below MS $802±$90Lowest 16% 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 $1,268Lowest 4% above MS $1,398Highest 15% above MS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 56.6%±12.6Highest MS: 51.3% 51.6%±13.1Lowest 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 23.3%Lowest MS: 18.9% 26.6%Highest MS: 18.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 5.6%±2.5Highest MS: 5.9% 4.1%±3.5Lowest 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 46.3%Highest 45%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.3 miLowest 16.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in GrenadaFew work in Laurel

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.7%Lowest 2%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 5.6 miLowest 5.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Highest 4Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district Jones County School District · Laurel School DistrictGrenada School District

High school in town Laurel High SchoolGrenada High School

Students per teacherat that high school 17.2Highest 13.4Lowest

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.

Laurel neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Laurel’s Town Square.

Grenada neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Grenada’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Laurel and Grenada

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

Bordering Laurel

+ Compare

Ellisville4,521 people · $100K homes

Towns like Laurel

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Gautier19,046 people · $166K homes

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Pascagoula21,710 people · $145K homes

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Horn Lake26,647 people · $171K 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.

Laurel vs Grenada

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 Laurel and Grenada

Bordering Laurel

Towns like Laurel

Post to Laurel

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