A family friendly atmosphere blends with farmland in Muleshoe
Muleshoe started out as a major cattle ranch under the same name in the late 1800s. Today, Muleshoe is the seat of Bailey County and home to about 5,000 people. But the community stays true to its rural roots, with a ranching heritage center, a donkey statue at the center of town and Texas’s oldest wildlife refuge to the south. Though cattle and crops still drive a good portion of the economy, the Muleshoe Independent School District is the largest employer. “I was born here in the 1940s and have been here my whole life,” says George Nieman, the owner-broker of Nieman Realty. “I’ve seen Muleshoe transition from a solely agricultural community to a super family friendly place with great schools and tons of parks.”
Some houses sit on quarter-acre lots, while others have farmland
Ranch styles and cottages built between the 1960s and early 2000s line Muleshoe’s wide, asphalt roads. Live oak trees often dot arid lawns, with the median lot size at about a quarter-acre. Droughts regularly impact Muleshoe, putting the community at risk of wildfires. Streets near the center of town mostly follow a grid pattern, and roads on the outskirts stretch around pastureland, feedyards and grain elevators. Buying here can cost between $70,000 and $350,000, depending on the house’s size, age and condition. The median single-family home price is around $169,000, significantly less than the national median.
Locals go to Muleshoe High football games
Muleshoe Independent School District educates around 1,300 students and employs around 230 people. Kids on the west side of town can attend Dillman Elementary, which Niche grades a B. C-plus-rated Mary DeShazo Elementary serves the east side. All students may continue to C-graded Watson Junior High and B-plus-rated Muleshoe High, where the boys' athletic teams have a Mule as their mascot, and the girls are represented by a Lady Mule. “We’re a big sports community, especially when it comes to football,” Nieman says. Homecoming queen candidates are announced at a pep rally, and the winner is crowned at the homecoming game, usually celebrated with a white-out theme. “More often than not, the team is pretty good,” Nieman says. “Going to those games is a big Friday night activity for the whole town.” Other community events include the Fourth of July Parade and the Bailey County Jr. Livestock Show & Auction at the local civic center.
The local wildlife refuge faces droughts
Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, about 20 miles south of town, was established in 1935 as a roosting habitat for sandhill cranes. Today, the bird still winters on this 6,440-acre plot, which is a popular camping and hiking spot. Visitors may encounter jackrabbits, coyotes and ferrets as they trek across the prairie terrain, covered in yucca and cacti. The preservation’s lakes and playa wetland supply water to nearby farms, though droughts occasionally cause them to dry up. Efforts to expand the refuge for water restoration were halted in 2025. “There’s a big concern that we could have a dust storm or run out of water for crops,” Nieman says.
There’s a waterpark, a heritage center and a golf course in town
Muleshoe has several recreation spaces with baseball diamonds and playground equipment. A water slide, a diving board and a lazy river are at the Muleshoe Water Park, one of several places that bring tourists to Muleshoe. “We have a free RV park,” Nieman says. “People stay there to go to the refuge, the water park or the heritage center.” A 15,000-pound muleshoe marks the entryway of the heritage center, where visitors can tour a train depot, ranch houses and other buildings dating back to the early 1900s. Elm trees line the Muleshoe Country Club’s 9-hole golf course, which has public tee times and membership options. Several houses of worship offer service in Spanish and English, including the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, founded in 1956.
Muleshoe has grocery stores and a hospital
Fast-food drive-throughs, feed stores and supermarkets like Food King sit along U.S. Route 84. Cowboy hats decorate the white-brick walls of Leal’s, a Mexican restaurant that’s been around since 1957. Muleshoe Area Medical Center, another major employer, has a Level IV Trauma Center. “We have what we need here,” Nieman says. “But people usually drive out of town for things other than basic groceries and farm equipment.” Locals often drive to Clovis, New Mexico, about 31 miles west, to grocery shop at Walmart Supercenter. Plainview and Lubbock, both less than 70 miles east, have even more big-box stores.
Tractors and trains may slow down traffic
Muleshoe is a car-dependent community centered around Route 84, which reaches Clovis and Lubbock, home to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport. U.S. Route 70 leads to Plainview. Slow-moving tractors and horse trailers sometimes delay traffic around Muleshoe's outskirts, and a freight railroad running through town causes temporary traffic stops at intersecting roads.
