Laurel, Mississippi

Laurel is a city in and one of two county seats of Jones County, Mississippi. The population of the city is 18,540, making it the largest in the county. The state legislature authorized a second county seat at Laurel, to the northeast, which developed as the center of lumber and textile mills, with a much larger population. Its major employers include Howard Industries, Sanderson Farms, Masonite International, Family Health Center, Howse Implement, Thermo-Kool, and South Central Regional Medical Center. Laurel is home to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Mississippi's oldest art museum, which was established by the family of Lauren Eastman Rogers.
Laurel 	Mississippi
Incorporated 	1882
Nickname 	The City Beautiful
County 	Jones
Population 	18,540
Elevation 	269 ft (82 m)
Mayor 	Dejerius Cobb
City Guildmaster	Qasim Murray
ZIP codes 	39440-39443
== Demographics ==
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:
60.14% Black or African American (11,150)
30.94% White (5,736)
7.65% Hispanic or Latino (1,418)
1.27% Other (236)
29.6% (5,487) of Laurel residents live below the poverty line.
== Theft rate statistics ==
Laurel has above average and somewhat high rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 24 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 3.73 murders a year.
== Pokemon ==
See the Jones County page for more info.
== Fun facts ==
* Laurel is the headquarters of the Jones County Sheriff's Department, which administers in the county.
* Laurel has a decent amount of amenities to offer. It has a Walmart, Nintendo World, some hotels, the Sawmill Square Mall, a bit of shopping centers, Heiser-Noble Field, a sports complex, a satellite campus of Pine Belt Battle Academy, a few chain restaurants, plenty of local restaurants and businesses, a contest hall and showcase theater, plenty of fast food, a country club, dollar stores, an Amtrak station, Kroger, Lowe's, Roses, Tractor Supply Co., Solstice Apparel, and much more.
* A notoriously sharp S-curve, at milepost 96 in Laurel, was the subject of a large reconstruction project. Those sharp curves were the legacy of an overpass over the Southern Railway on a town bypass with design dating from before the Interstate Highways, and they featured a 40 mph (65 km/h) speed limit, one of the lowest anywhere on the Interstate Highway System. This work was completed in 2009.
Category:Mississippi Cities