Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,824, settled in 1838. Public schools that outperform most of Mississippi.
Hernando grades A− overall, ranked 5th of 99 in Mississippi, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 89% of the state's and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 82% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $77K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $348K, 5.2 years of the Memphis metro’s $66K median household income. Only 16 of Mississippi’s 187 towns score higher on health. Hernando has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Felix Labauve House and Robertson-Yates House. Only 2 of Mississippi’s 148 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Hernando beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hernando Hills Elementary | 2–3 | 770 |
| Oak Grove Central Elementary School | 4–5 | 744 |
| Hernando Elementary School | PK–1 | 707 |
| Widest gap | Hernando | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13% | 22.4% |
Census counts: 730 in 1870, 17,138 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and a map from 1982 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Hernando is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hernando. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Ancient siteSS Sultana
19 mi Stadium & arenaSimmons Bank Liberty Stadium
20 mi MuseumNational Civil Rights Museum
20 mi Stadium & arenaFedExForum
20 mi MuseumBlues Hall of Fame
19 mi Stadium & arenaMid-South ColiseumSS Sultana: Template:Thomas W. Bankes, Public domain · Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · National Civil Rights Museum: Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0 · FedExForum: Marco Espino-Ovalle, Public domain · Blues Hall of Fame: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mid-South Coliseum: bcbuckner, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hernando, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Hernando.
Hernando sends many workers across the state line to Collierville, has less food insecurity than most of Mississippi and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Mississippi.
The median property tax bill is $1,920, against $1,215 across Mississippi, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A home in Hernando typically sold within 61 days of listing. Among households here, 81% are owner-occupiers, above both Mississippi’s towns (62%) and U.S. towns (73%). The typical home value locally is about $348,000, up 2.1% in a year, 79% above the Mississippi typical home. For Hernando, the midpoint rent is $1,302 a month.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,302 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the DeSoto County School District. Below: Three of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is Hernando High School, with 1,529 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hernando Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,183 | A+ |
| Hernando High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,529 | A+ |
| Hernando Hills ElementaryTop results in townGrades 2–3 | Grades 2–3 | 770 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
Hernando’s property crime rate stands at 3.2 per 1,000 residents, below both the Mississippi town median (17.3) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). In Hernando, the violent crime rate is 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 17.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Mississippi is food insecurity: 13% of its 12,664 adults worry about having enough food, against 22.4% statewide.
Only 8 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Hernando. In Hernando, just over one in ten adults report frequent physical distress. Among adults locally, 11% have diabetes and 18% say their health is fair or poor.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 27% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 24% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hernando | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13% | 22.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.5% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 90.8°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 76% of Mississippi places with climate records; January nights average 32.4°.
The January low here is 32°F. Snow almost never falls.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 32°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
32% of working residents cross a state line to work, Collierville among the top destinations.
The top destinations are Memphis (32%), Southaven (13%) and Olive Branch (8%). Most people who work leave Hernando to do it: just 19% work in town. For residents locally, the share who live below the poverty line is 8.8%. Also worth knowing: between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 2,347, to 10,861.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 8.8% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 20% | 8% |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
35% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 25% across Mississippi. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. Hernando has grown 9.8% since 2020, to 18,824 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Among residents here, 26% are under 18.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 24% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.6 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.3 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| Hernando | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.3% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.1% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.9% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.6% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.5% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.9% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.6% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Trails total 2.1 miles in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Lee's Summit Park, at 20 acres. Hernando’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Hernando | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Conger Park | 0.6 mi | 11 |
| 2. Lee's Summit Park | — | 20 |
| 3. Hernando Sports and Track | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Flood insurance has paid out on 4 claims in Hernando since 1979. Compared with half of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is higher. 28% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by tornadoes at 24%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Hernando; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Hernando residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Mississippi.
14,090 counted in 2010 and 17,138 in 2020; an estimated 18,824 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.8% since 2020, after 21.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
13 notable people were born in Hernando.
City in Mississippi, United States
Hernando is a city in and the county seat of DeSoto County, on the northwestern border of Mississippi, United States. The population was 17,138 according to the 2020 census records. It is located on the south side of the Memphis, Tennessee metro area. U.S. Route 51 and the I-55 freeway traverse the city from north to south, and the I-69 freeway crosses the city from east to west. The county courthouse is located within Hernando's historic downtown square. It is located at the intersection of Commerce Street and present-day U.S. 51.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Hernando.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Hernando grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #5 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
13 notable people were born here, including Kennedy McKinney and Robert Wilkins.
