Muleshoe is named after the nearby Muleshoe Ranch. The Muleshoe Heritage Center located off the combined U.S. Routes 70 and 64 is a popular museum which commemorates the importance of ranching to West Texas.
The Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is located some twenty miles to the south on State Highway 214. It is a 5,000-acre wintering area for migratory waterfowl flying from Canada to Mexico. It contains the largest number of sandhill cranes in North America.
Actor Lee Horsley was born in Muleshoe on May 15, 1955. He played the fictional detective Matt Houston on an ABC series of the same name and later starred in the CBS western Paradise.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,530 people, 1,595 households, and 1,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,323.9 people per square mile (511.4/km). There were 1,802 housing units at an average density of 526.6/sq mi (203.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 63.27% White, 1.50% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 31.59% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 53.33% of the population.
There were 1,595 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,519, and the median income for a family was $31,969. Males had a median income of $23,409 versus $16,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,567. About 13.4% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.