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is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States, along the Leaf River. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population is 10,617 per the US Census estimates performed in July 2007.
The American Checkers Federation is based in Petal. Tom Walters (safety for the Washington Redskins) is from Petal. University of Alabama football legend, Ray Perkins, attended Petal High School where he was an All-American. Petal is also the home town of Jerry Edwards, Executive Vice President of The Home Depot.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.7 square miles (25.1 km²), of which, 9.7 square miles (25.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.21%) is water.