The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Petal, MS: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	A+
Property Crime Grade	A
Other Crime Grade	B+

Which crimes are included?

$3.98 million

Cost of Crime™ for Petal, MS

In 2025, crime will cost $503 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Petal with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Petal, MS Safe?

The A overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Petal's combined rate is much lower than the norm. Petal sits in the 90th percentile, ahead of 90% of cities and behind 10%. The grade covers only Petal's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Petal is 12.47 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southeast part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 45 in the southwest neighborhoods to 1 in 145 in the southeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southwest parts of Petal, MS report the most crime, about 67 cases per year. The northwest part reports the fewest, around 10 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Petal, MS

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Petal for 2025 is $3,984,955, about $172 per resident and $503 per household. That equals 0.5% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 58.0%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 30.0%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 12.0%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Petal Compared to Other Cities?

Petal, MS:	$172
Fayette, MS:	$635
Gulf Hills, MS:	$124
Mississippi:	$270
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Petal is $172 per year, which is $292 less than the national average and $98 less than Mississippi's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Petal:

In Fayette, MS, crime costs $635 per person, which is $464 more than in Petal.
In Gulf Hills, MS, crime costs $124 per person, which is $48 less than in Petal

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Petal for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Petal	Cost per Petal Resident
Murder	$1.15 million	$49
Rape/Sexual Assault	$438,089	$19
Robbery	$55,197	$2
Assault	$288,991	$12
Kidnapping	$76,989	$3
Vehicle Theft	$307,725	$13
Burglary	$231,890	$10
Theft	$523,090	$23
Arson	$35,868	$2
Vandalism	$254,613	$11
Animal Cruelty	$14,173	$1
Drug Crimes	$599,307	$26
Identity Theft	$12,486	$1
Total Cost of Crime	$3,984,955	$172

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Petal, MS

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Petal totals $9,784,589 ($422 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $13,769,544 ($594 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The west part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Petal has 1, do the same, and of Petal's 23,179 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Petal, MS at ISP Reports.

Petal Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Petal residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	0.4341
Robbery	0.0757
Rape	0.3117
Murder	0.0263
Total Violent Crime	0.8479 (A+)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	4.357
Vehicle Theft	0.8573
Burglary	1.103
Arson	0.0641
Total Property Crime	6.382 (A)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0548
Drug Crimes	3.495
Vandalism	1.538
Identity Theft	0.0696
Animal Cruelty	0.0827
Total "Other" Rate	5.240 (B+)

Individual Petal Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Petal is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Petal.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Dixie Pine, MS	A+	A+	A+
Glendale, MS	A+	A+	A+
McCallum, MS	A+	A+	A+
Eastabuchie, MS	B+	A+	B+
Hattiesburg, MS	B+	A+	B
Maybank, MS	C+	A+	C+
Hintonville, MS	A+	A+	A+
Dixie, MS	A	A+	A+
Ovett, MS	A+	A+	A+
Mahned, MS	A	A+	A+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Petal is lower versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
South St. Paul, MN	C	C+	C+
Lakeside, VA	D-	C	C
Round Lake, IL	B+	A-	A-
Secaucus, NJ	D	C+	C+
Shiloh, PA	A	A	A
Siloam Springs, AR	D-	D-	D-
Socastee, SC	D-	D	D
South Burlington, VT	D+	B-	B-
South Euclid, OH	D	D	D
South Holland, IL	D+	D+	D+

Considering only the crime rate, Petal is safer than the Mississippi state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Petal, MS average SchoolGrade of B, with 46% actual proficiency versus 43% projected; overall, schools exceed expectations. See Petal schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.