Best PlacesMurphys, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Murphys, 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.
Murphys ranks 24,788th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Murphys
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.
Murphys' strengths and weaknesses
Where Murphys ranks high
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 136 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of towns
Where Murphys ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Murphys
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Murphys home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,837, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Murphys' effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Murphys
Murphys runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Murphys.
Who works in Murphys, and how
Work in Murphys centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Murphys
Murphys has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Murphys and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Murphys, month by month
Murphys sees roughly 136 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 70° | 56° | 43° |
| July | 97° | 79° | 61° |
| October | 79° | 61° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Murphys
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around Murphys
Schools across Murphys average a B−, better than 55% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mark Twain ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Hazel Fischer ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Albert A. Michelson ElementaryC+ · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Avery MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Toyon MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Sonora HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Calaveras HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Rite Of PassageD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Murphys school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Murphys 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 Murphys against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Murphys
Is Murphys a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Murphys ranks 24,788th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, the weather, and walkability, and lowest on an overheated housing market and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Murphys expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $491,329. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $75,837 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is Murphys safe?
Murphys is safer than 45% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
Compare Murphys with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Murphys. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Murphys 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.
Murphys detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Murphys: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Murphys: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Murphys: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Murphys: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Murphys 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.