| | Petal, MS | Gautier, MS | United States |
| Expend. per Student | $12,213 | $11,685 | $15,905 |
| Educ. Expend. per Student | $10,237 | $10,559 | $13,142 |
| Instr. Expend. per Student | $5,846 | $6,005 | $7,999 |
| Pupil/Teacher Ratio | 13.06 | 14.38 | 16.23 |
| Students per Librarian | 595 | 390 | 4573 |
| Students per Counselor | 460 | 374 | 530 |
| Grade School Educ. | 3.2% | 4.3% | 4.8% |
| Some High School Educ. | 6.4% | 7.6% | 6.3% |
| High School Educ. | 90.4% | 88.1% | 88.9% |
| Some College Educ. | 19.6% | 25.9% | 20.0% |
| 2 yr College Grad. | 9.8% | 15.2% | 8.7% |
| 4 yr College Grad. | 36.4% | 23.8% | 33.7% |
| Masters Grad. | 11.0% | 7.2% | 9.3% |
| Professional Degree | 2.0% | 1.5% | 2.2% |
| Doctorate Degree | 2.1% | 0.7% | 1.5% |