"Home Town" on HGTV - Laurel MS

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by badger74

There have to be good long-term conditions for gentrification to take hold. I dont think Laurel has enough of those. Growing job sector. Retirement magnet. After the show ends Laurel gradually returns to its condition ex ante. Waco--the other comparable has a major growth anchor in Baylor University. It's somewhat attractive for retirees. https://texashillcountry.com/gaines-...my-waco-texas/

It has a 'chance', but there really needs to be some type of alignment with Hattiesburg. Similar to how the Golden Triangle (Starkville - Columbus - West Point) markets itself. But keep in mind, that's just making the best of the situation, and not ideal. Ideal would be all those resources being in one place together.

Anyway, if you combine Laurel (17K people) with Hattiesburg (172K people) and surrounding areas, you have an area that is comparable to Waco (304K people). Plus that area has a university, junior college, commercial service airport, Army base, etc. Not as strong as Waco by any means, but still.

However, the edges of those 2 metros are still a solid 20 miles apart. Can they grow together? Can they co-exist? I have no idea, but that's likely their only real shot of true growth. Typical of so many things in Mississippi - the resources are just spread out too much, with no real consolidation.

[brickpatio2018]

One thing coming to the Laurel-Hattiesburg metro region is the green hydrogen industry, starting with the nation's first "green" steel plant now under construction in neighboring Perry County. Other industries will follow, seeking to access the environmentally friendly green hydrogen being produced on the Coast and stored in the nearby salt caverns as a clean energy source.

Laurel's main poultry company Sanderson Farms last year sold for around $1 billion if memory serves, and I do wonder what kind of local business investments the Sanderson family will be making in the coming years.

Jones County's median household income and per capita income run about 25 years behind the national average. The current national average is around $75,000 (which is also roughly the average in Madison, Rankin, and DeSoto Counties) which to me is the beginning point of the prosperous, suburban middle class (for households of 2 to 3 people on average).

(That's subjective on my part but it's a guess based on the income you would need in most metros to be able to afford to buy a house in a nice, safe suburban residential area.). To me the work that's already been done in Laurel, which has always been beautiful, is incredible. In another 25 or 30 years of development and that big increase in average income that will come right along with the growth in the national economy, it's going to be a terrific area.