City · Holmes County, Mississippi

Lexington, Mississippi

Lexington is a city in Holmes County, Mississippi, part of the Jackson, MS metro area. It has 1,350 residents. Lexington, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,225 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #144 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), public libraries (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on life expectancy (low), homicide rate (high) and restaurants and bars (low).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,225 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #144 of 194 in MS
Population: 1,350 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 558.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2840600

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety0#15,634/15,637
Economy2#15,387/15,631
Housing83#2,539/14,977
Health9#14,138/15,609
Healthcare10#14,101/15,650
Environment32#10,495/15,453
Education12#13,741/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,129/15,650
Community2#15,369/15,651
Leisure & amenities11#13,926/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lexington, Mississippi ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Holmes 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

Rent as share of income · low17.2%
99/100Mississippi 30.7%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Public libraries · high3.2 /10k
96/100Mississippi 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesHolmes County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low101 min
96/100Mississippi 138 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHolmes County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.8×
95/100Mississippi 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
New business applications · high20.1 /1k
91/100Mississippi 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHolmes County value
Depression · low18.5%
89/100Mississippi 20.1%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Life expectancy · low65.5 yrs
0/100Mississippi 72.5 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHolmes County value
Homicide rate · high31.4 /100k
0/100Mississippi 14.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHolmes County value
Restaurants and bars · low1.3 /10k
0/100Mississippi 7.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHolmes County value
Food environment index · low3.6
0/100Mississippi 4.1United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHolmes County value
Child care cost burden · high51.5%
0/100Mississippi 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHolmes County value
Adult obesity · high51.1%
0/100Mississippi 42.6%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,784 (2015-2019) → 1,350 (2020-2024)
−24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
55.1% (2015-2019) → 20.5% (2020-2024)
−35 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
56.0% (2015-2019) → 80.1% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
43.0% (2015-2019) → 22.7% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
39.8% (2015-2019) → 24.8% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,023 (2015-2019) → $48,417 (2020-2024)
+56%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Lexington, Mississippi improved on 4 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved4

Inequality−0.1300.628 → 0.498
Broadband+24 points56.0% → 80.1%
Household income+56%$31,023 → $48,417
Bachelor's++8.5 points16.4% → 24.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Lexington, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.4%2015-2019	24.9%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	85%
Broadband subscriptions	56.0%2015-2019	80.1%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	0.74%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	83.5%2015-2019	89.8%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.6282015-2019	0.4982020-2024	−0.130	Improved	98%
Median household income	$31,0232015-2019	$48,4172020-2024	+56%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	43.0%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−20 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Rent as share of income	23.3%2015-2019	17.2%2020-2024	−6.1 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.5%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	85%

“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 Lexington, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lexington, 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, Lexington, Mississippi itself moved +8 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,350 residents (±378)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

558 households (±145)

Lexington, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k32%†179
$25k–50k21%†119
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

558 households (±145)

Lexington, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own72%404
Rent28%†154

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

550 workers (±186)

Lexington, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone92%†506
Carpool4.5%†25
Public transit

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 Jackson, MS

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 Holmes County, the county holding most of Lexington's residents.

Holmes County has 208 employer establishments, 131 for every 10,000 residents (0.53× the US rate of 248; 0.64× Mississippi's), with 1,857 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,529. The Census Bureau also counts 1,557 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 208; 1,557 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 131; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 1,857
Average annual pay: $41,529; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	15	9.5	0.45×Fewer than typical	238	$44,197	80
Gasoline stations	14	8.8	2.72×More than typical	79	$23,861	—
Religious organizations	12	7.6	1.36×More than typical	21	$11,952	—
Restaurants and other eating places	12	7.6	0.41×Fewer than typical	85	$11,953	24
Lessors of real estate	10	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	24	$23,667	45
Banks and credit unions	8	5	1.56×Too few to compare	45	$54,911	—
Child day care services	8	5	2.07×Too few to compare	97	$35,433	118
General merchandise stores	8	5	2.85×Too few to compare	77	$15,312	5
Limited-service restaurants	6	3.8	0.47×Too few to compare	68	$13,235	16
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	5	3.2	1.80×Too few to compare	24	$23,542	—
Outpatient care centers	5	3.2	1.71×Too few to compare	118	$45,127	—
Truck transportation	5	3.2	0.62×Too few to compare	23	$21,696	121

Rank places for an industry Open Holmes County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,867 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Holmes 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.

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

House

Bennie G. ThompsonD-MS-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.9%

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.

Holmes County0100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jackson, MS29

Other cities and towns in Holmes 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/2840600

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends