One downside of living in Laurel, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.60 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Despite the fact that it is a small town, Laurel has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly taxis - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the town for affordable transportation.
The citizens of Laurel have a very low rate of college education: just 8.16% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, compared to a national average of 21.84% for all cities.
The per capita income in Laurel in 2018 was $16,378, which is low income relative to Delaware and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $65,512 for a family of four. However, Laurel contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Laurel also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 39.58% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Laurel is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Laurel home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Laurel residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Laurel also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 25.47% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Laurel include German, Irish, English, African, and Haitian.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Laurel's cultural character, accounting for 15.91% of the town’s population.
The most common language spoken in Laurel is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French Creole.
