Petal is a city of 21,700 in Forrest County, about 5 miles east of downtown Hattiesburg · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Petal?
Petal has less violent crime than most US neighborhoods: an A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Assaults make up 91% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 950 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
83% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Petal as a whole, and 17% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Petal scores 950.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Petal, MS at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Petal, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about violent crime in Petal
Simple assault runs low. Petal has 2.6 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 9.7.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Petal
Every part of Petal where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Petal run from A+ to A.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Violent crime rates and types in Petal
CrimeGrade™ estimates Petal has about 3.4 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 75% less than the US as a whole and 73% less than Mississippi.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Petal, about 91% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Violent crime in Petal and nearby cities
Of the 3 cities closest to Petal, 2 have less violent crime. Ovett and Moselle have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Petal apart: it has 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (7 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 93% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more assault. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 87% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.21 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 86% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Petal: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Petal on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What violent crime costs Petal
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Petal about $11 million a year, or $492 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $2.0 million, or $92 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 81% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$930,000
$43
Rape
$350,000
$16
Robbery
$1,700
under $1
Assault
$710,000
$33
Total
$2.0 million
$92
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Petal is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
