† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupLaurelMississippiUnited States
African American†58.9%35.3%9.9%
African2.2%0.8%0.5%
American6.0%10.0%5.3%
English5.0%10.6%9.5%
Irish3.0%7.4%9.4%
German1.9%5.1%12.5%
Scottish0.8%1.6%1.3%
French0.6%1.7%1.6%
Italian0.6%1.7%4.8%
Scotch-Irish0.6%1.0%—
Mexican6.5%1.9%11.3%
Guatemalan1.6%0.2%0.5%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Laurel
Mississippi
United States
Median age
35.1
38.6
39.1
Age 18–24
10.8%
9.7%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.2%
17.3%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Laurel
Mississippi
United States
Median household income
$47,661
$56,447
$84,427
Poverty rate
23.3%
19.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
21.8%
25.3%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Laurel
Mississippi
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
8.8%
4.3%
22.3%
Spanish
8.3%
2.7%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Laurel
Mississippi
United States
Catholic
—
3.4%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
39.0%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
40.7%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Laurel, Mississippi
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+21.2%
2008
+27.4%
2012
+26.4%
2016
+30.6%
2020
+33.9%
2024
+24.8%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
61.7%Harris3,548
36.8%Trump2,119
1.5%
D+24.8
R+9.1
D+26.3
5,751
D
66.3%Biden4,373
32.4%Trump2,136
1.3%
D+33.9
D+3.3
D+29.5
6,596
D
64.6%Clinton4,158
34.0%Trump2,189
1.4%
D+30.6
D+4.2
D+28.5
6,436
D
62.8%Obama4,868
36.4%Romney2,819
0.9%
D+26.4
R+1.0
D+22.6
7,754
D
63.1%Obama4,736
35.7%McCain2,681
1.1%
D+27.4
D+6.1
D+20.1
7,502
D
60.6%Kerry3,909
39.3%Bush2,538
0.1%
D+21.2
—
D+23.7
6,452
Laurel sits in Jones County, a historically split corner of Mississippi where African American voters constitute a majority of the city's population, making municipal turnout patterns a consistent variable in statewide margin calculations.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 33.9 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 9.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 24.8 points.
A population of 17,679, a 28% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $47,661 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Americus and Covington.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Laurel, Mississippi voted Democratic by 24.8 points (D+24.8), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 5,751 votes cast, 3,548 went Democratic and 2,119 went Republican.
How many people live in Laurel, Mississippi?
Laurel, Mississippi has a population of 17,679 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Laurel, Mississippi?
Median household income in Laurel, Mississippi is $47,661 — below the national median of $80,734. The Mississippi state median is $56,447.
What is the political history of Laurel, Mississippi?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Laurel, Mississippi from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
