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Towns / Mississippi

Lexington, Mississippi

Lexington is a small town of about 1,400 people in Holmes County, Mississippi. It's the county seat. It has lost about 12% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Memphis, is about 138 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
1,395
down 12% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$88,500
U.S.: $332,700
Household income
$48,417
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Jackson area
89
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Lexington, MS
To Memphis
138 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11% below the U.S. average in the Jackson metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Lexington itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byHolmes County Hospital and Clinics in Lexington, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 138 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Lexington meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Lexington has lost about 12% of its people since 2020, and about 1 in 10 homes stands empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$88,500U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities
$685 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,417U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,071 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940
15%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89U.S. average = 100 (the Jackson metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Jackson metro area, not Lexington alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,3952020: 1,588
Median age
38.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (32%); manufacturing (15%); retail (13%)
Work from home
0%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Holmes County Hospital and Clinics, Lexington, MS, about 2 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Greenwood Leflore Hospital, Greenwood, MS, about 29 miles away. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Lexington, run by Holmes County Consolidated Sd.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Mississippi's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low
31°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
63 a year
Nights at or below freezing
60 a year
Rain and melted snow
59.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
238 feet

Weather stations: Lexington (less than a mile away) and Vaiden 1 SSW (22 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Holmes County Hospital and Clinics, Jackson, Memphis.

Holmes County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Holmes County Courthouse Complex and the Lexington Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Natchez Trace Parkway27 miles
  • Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument54 miles
  • Vicksburg National Military Park60 miles

Read about Lexington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lexington?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.