Best PlacesDeSoto County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in DeSoto County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
DeSoto County ranks 637th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $91,746, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are state infrastructure, noise, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in DeSoto County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in DeSoto County
The parts of DeSoto County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Byhalia
More households have young kids, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Southaven
More adults hold degrees and more residents vote.
Olive Branch
Prices have run up less and crime runs lower.
Hernando & Nesbit
Schools score higher and fewer homes sit empty.
Horn Lake
It is quieter, though health care is harder to reach.
Walls
Health outcomes score lower and tree cover is thinner.
DeSoto County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 4% of the country and others in the top 6%. Pick the area first, then the home.
DeSoto County's strengths and weaknesses
DeSoto County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Fast internet, a strong job market, and what local pay buys carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. State infrastructure, noise, and state finances hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where DeSoto County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 94% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of counties
- Household income$91,746 median, better than 88% of counties
Where DeSoto County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 11% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in DeSoto County
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median DeSoto County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,746, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses DeSoto County's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in DeSoto County
DeSoto County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for DeSoto County.
Who works in DeSoto County, and how
Work in DeSoto County centers on transportation & warehousing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in DeSoto County
DeSoto County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of DeSoto County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is DeSoto County growing, and who is moving in?
DeSoto County has grown about 15% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Memphis, TN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving DeSoto County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in DeSoto County, month by month
DeSoto County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 79° | 66° | 54° |
Flying in and out of DeSoto County
Memphis International sits about 8 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around DeSoto County
Schools across DeSoto County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lewisburg Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Pleasant Hill ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Center Hill Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewisburg MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Hernando Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Desoto Central Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Lewisburg High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Hernando High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Center Hill High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every DeSoto County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
DeSoto County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare DeSoto County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who DeSoto County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in DeSoto County
Is DeSoto County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, DeSoto County ranks 637th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, a strong job market, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state infrastructure and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is DeSoto County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $266,850. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $91,746 median income, cost of living beats 93% of counties.
Is DeSoto County safe?
Yes, DeSoto County is safer than 84% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $149 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in DeSoto County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 32. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 18% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in DeSoto County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Byhalia, Southaven, and Olive Branch. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is DeSoto County good for families?
Schools beat 76% of counties, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $651 a month.
Is DeSoto County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare DeSoto County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to DeSoto County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in DeSoto County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
DeSoto County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for DeSoto County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in DeSoto County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of DeSoto County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in DeSoto County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
DeSoto County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.