Best PlacesMurphytown, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Murphytown, 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.
Murphytown ranks 26,840th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Murphytown
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.
Murphytown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Murphytown ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of towns
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 79% of towns
Where Murphytown ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 15% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Murphytown
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Murphytown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,297, 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 Murphytown's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Murphytown
Murphytown runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Murphytown.
Who works in Murphytown, and how
Work in Murphytown centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Murphytown
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Murphytown.
What the weather is like in Murphytown, month by month
Murphytown sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Murphytown
The nearest airport, Mid-Ohio Valley Regional, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around Murphytown
Schools across Murphytown average a C+, better than 47% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Criss Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Jefferson Elementary CenterC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamilton Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkersburg High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Murphytown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Murphytown 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 Murphytown against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Murphytown
Is Murphytown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Murphytown ranks 26,840th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, short commutes, and low disaster risk, and lowest on state infrastructure and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Murphytown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $174,194. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,297 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is Murphytown safe?
Yes, Murphytown is safer than 79% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $199 per resident a year.
Compare Murphytown with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Murphytown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Murphytown 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.
Murphytown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Murphytown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Murphytown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Murphytown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Murphytown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Murphytown 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.