City · DeSoto County, Mississippi

Horn Lake, Mississippi

Horn Lake is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area. It has 26,647 residents. Horn Lake, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 10 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,103 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #89 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), mental health care shortage (low) and distance to an airport (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), time spent in the emergency room (high) and average weekly wage (low).

10Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,103 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #89 of 194 in MS
Population: 26,647 (2020-2024)
Land area: 16 mi²
Density: 1,662.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2833700

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety40#9,448/15,637
Economy22#12,254/15,631
Housing27#10,880/14,977
Health25#11,704/15,609
Healthcare36#10,028/15,650
Environment9#14,074/15,453
Education38#9,665/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,318/15,650
Community2#15,313/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,487/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Horn Lake, Mississippi ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “DeSoto County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child care cost burden · low18.0%
98/100Mississippi 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeSoto County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Mississippi 14.9United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeSoto County value
Distance to an airport · low10 mi
91/100Mississippi 60 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDeSoto County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Mississippi 16.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeSoto County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.47%
90/100Mississippi 0.58%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New business applications · high19.1 /1k
87/100Mississippi 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauDeSoto County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high32.3%
2/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Time spent in the emergency room · high240 min
5/100Mississippi 138 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeSoto County value
Average weekly wage · low$922
8/100Mississippi $1,024United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDeSoto County value
Loneliness · high38.6%
9/100Mississippi 37.2%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · high34.9%
9/100Mississippi 35.7%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
High ozone days · high8 days
10/100Mississippi 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDeSoto County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
0.8 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.6% (2015-2019) → 57.2% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
24.7% (2015-2019) → 32.3% (2020-2024)
+7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.7% (2015-2019) → 33.5% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
8.5% (2015-2019) → 5.8% (2020-2024)
−2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Horn Lake, Mississippi improved on 1 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Property tax−0.4 points0.88% → 0.47%

Declined3

Inequality+0.0460.379 → 0.425
Price / income+1.0×2.2× → 3.2×
Rent / income+4.8 points28.7% → 33.5%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Horn Lake, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.1 min2015-2019	25.7 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Within the margin of error	64%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.8%2015-2019	16.5%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Broadband subscriptions	86.5%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Child poverty rate	24.7%2015-2019	32.3%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Effective property tax rate	0.88%2015-2019	0.47%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	85%
High school diploma or higher	86.3%2015-2019	86.6%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	21%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3792015-2019	0.4252020-2024	+0.046	Declined	18%
Median household income	$48,6222015-2019	$53,3112020-2024	+9.6%	Within the margin of error	16%
Poverty rate	16.9%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.7%2015-2019	33.5%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Declined	23%
Rent-burdened households	45.6%2015-2019	57.2%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Unemployment rate	8.5%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.7%2015-2019	14.1%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Horn Lake, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Horn Lake, Mississippi in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Horn Lake, Mississippi itself moved −13.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

26,647 residents (±43)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 men (−2.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

26,647 residents (±43)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

White36%9,517
Black50%13,311
Hispanic or Latino9.2%2,460

Education

16,679 residents (±815)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

No high school diploma13%2,241
High school or GED39%6,481
Some college19%3,241

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

10,072 households (±534)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k22%2,169
$25k–50k25%2,538
$50k–75k18%1,803
$75k–100k13%1,348
$100k–150k12%1,201
$150k–200k7.6%†762
$200k or more2.5%†251

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−6.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

10,072 households (±534)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own58%5,854
Rent42%4,218

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

4,132 households (±575)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $7505.5%†229
$750–1,0003.6%†147
$1,000–1,50053%2,171

Home values

5,854 homes (±545)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $150k35%2,059
$150k–250k44%2,563
$250k–400k17%1,016

Age of homes

10,987 homes (±526)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

2010 or later7.9%863
2000–200918%2,032
1980–199951%5,551

Size of homes

10,987 homes (±526)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Studio0.9%†96
1 bedroom6.7%†731
2 bedrooms16%1,745

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

12,266 workers (±684)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone88%10,804
Carpool6.3%†776
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home4.3%†533
Other1.2%†153

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (−3.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

11,733 workers (±728)

Horn Lake, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under 15 min18%2,066
15–29 min40%4,668
30–44 min30%3,514

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of DeSoto County, the county holding most of Horn Lake's residents.

DeSoto County has 3,349 employer establishments, 172 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Mississippi's), with 63,252 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,895. The Census Bureau also counts 20,247 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,349; 20,247 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 172; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 63,252
Average annual pay: $43,895; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of DeSoto County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	364	18.7	1.02×About typical	9,106	$20,997	102
Ambulatory health care services	262	13.5	0.65×Fewer than typical	2,960	$59,020	775
Limited-service restaurants	175	9	1.12×About typical	5,174	$19,835	47
Specialty trade contractors	162	8.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	1,522	$64,910	1,778
Full-service restaurants	133	6.8	0.89×About typical	3,324	$23,795	38
Truck transportation	128	6.6	1.30×More than typical	1,740	$52,153	1,075
Religious organizations	110	5.7	1.02×About typical	1,232	$25,438	—
Lessors of real estate	107	5.5	0.45×Fewer than typical	292	$49,699	1,286
Clothing and accessories stores	104	5.4	1.48×More than typical	1,424	$19,666	362
Gasoline stations	101	5.2	1.60×More than typical	516	$25,556	9
Automotive repair and maintenance	91	4.7	0.93×About typical	535	$55,222	417
Services to buildings and dwellings	91	4.7	0.70×Fewer than typical	828	$41,861	1,850

Rank places for an industry Open DeSoto County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 194,179 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $130.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Horn Lake, Mississippi: $4.88 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $130.1K
Per resident: $4.88; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Coast Guard$130.1K100%

Top recipients

BLUEWATER MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC$130.1K100%

Spending by fiscal year

151.2KFY2017
4.8KFY2018
123.2KFY2020
171.7KFY2021
3KFY2022
5KFY2023
5.1KFY2024
130.1KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Traveler accommodation · 7211$130.1K100%

Part of this section could not be loaded in time.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Horn Lake, Mississippi, so they do not add up across cities.

Horn Lake, Mississippi's figures are part of those of DeSoto County, MS ($58.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Horn Lake is mostly in DeSoto County.

See federal money in DeSoto County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Horn Lake, Mississippi is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Trent KellyR-MS-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

DeSoto County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR15

Other cities and towns in DeSoto County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2833700

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends