Best PlacesMurdock, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Murdock, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Murdock ranks 21,525th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Murdock
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.
Murdock's strengths and weaknesses
Where Murdock ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 96% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 95% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 84% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of towns
Where Murdock ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Murdock
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Murdock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,801, 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 Murdock's effective rate of 1.14%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Murdock
Murdock runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Murdock.
Who works in Murdock, and how
Work in Murdock centers on education and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Murdock
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Murdock.
What the weather is like in Murdock, month by month
Murdock sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 33° | 22° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 69° |
| October | 76° | 60° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Murdock
The nearest airport, Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower Ntl, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 208 miles away.
The best schools in and around Murdock
Schools across Murdock average a C, better than 36% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cheney ElemA · 72% proficient
- Norwich Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Kingman Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cheney Middle School 6-8B · 43% proficient
- Norwich Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Kingman Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Cheney HighC− · 28% proficient
- Kingman HighD · 20% proficient
- Norwich HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Murdock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Murdock 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 Murdock against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Murdock
Is Murdock a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Murdock ranks 21,525th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Murdock expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,447. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $86,801 median income, cost of living beats 78% of towns.
Is Murdock safe?
Murdock is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $304 per resident a year.
Compare Murdock with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Murdock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Murdock 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.
Murdock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Murdock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Murdock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Murdock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Murdock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Murdock 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.
- 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.