Welcome to Laurel ...
The city of Laurel is primarily located in Prince George's County<1>. A portion of Laurel extends into Anne Arundel County and Howard County.
The location of Laurel has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
Laurel was established in 1870.
When the people of Laurel refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use terms like Laurelite or Laurelian.<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Laurel has a population of 25,704 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Laurel is 220 feet [67 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Laurel lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Telephone area codes for Laurel: (301) and (240)<6>
The ZIP codes for Laurel: 20707-20709, 20723-20726<7>
Websites for Laurel ...
Official Website: www.laurel.md.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Laurel had an population of 25,704 people. This is an increase of 2.35% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 28.78% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Laurel had a population of 25,115 people. This makes Laurel the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Laurel represents 0.44% of the total population of Maryland (which has 5,773,552 people), making it the state's 10th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 25,115 people, the population of Laurel increased 25.83% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 19,960 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Laurel.
Communities Also Named Laurel ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 40 communities that are also named Laurel - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California (3), Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky (2), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina (2), Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania (4), Quebec, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee (2), Texas, Virginia (3), Washington (2) and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Laurel.
Communities near Laurel ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Laurel.
- Baltimore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Baltimore is located in Baltimore City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 586,131 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baltimore <8>
- Arlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Arlington County (VA)
- Population from the 2010 Census: 207,627 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <8>
- Rockville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Rockville is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69,512 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockville <8>
- Gaithersburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaithersburg
- Gaithersburg is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67,741 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaithersburg <8>
- Bowie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowie
- Bowie is located in Prince George's County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58,212 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowie <8>
- College Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
- College Park is located in Prince George's County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32,173 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for College Park <8>
- Greenbelt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenbelt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbelt
- Greenbelt is located in Prince George's County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,229 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenbelt <8>
- Hyattsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hyattsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyattsville
- Hyattsville is located in Prince George's County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,217 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hyattsville <8>
- Takoma Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Takoma Park
- Takoma Park is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,696 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Takoma Park <8>
- New Carrollton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Carrollton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Carrollton
- New Carrollton is located in Prince George's County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,909 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Carrollton <8>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Laurel. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Laurel.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Laurel. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Laurel.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel. Our list includes 10 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Laurel.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Laurel ...
Looking for more information about Laurel? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Laurel, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Laurel.
Adding Laurel to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Laurel in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Laurel was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Laurel post office opened in 1875.
We also found Laurel in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Laurel.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Laurel: www.laurel.md.us/
The official website for Prince George's County: www.co.pg.md.us/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Maryland's counties, including Prince George's, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Laurel refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Laurel may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Laurel. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Laurel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (240) is an overlay for area code (301). |
| <7> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Laurel). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Laurel or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Laurel includes: 20707, 20708, 20723, 20724, 20725 & 20726. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |