Best PlacesMurray County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Murray County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Murray County ranks 684th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Murray County
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.
Murray County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Murray County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 133 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 83% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of counties
Where Murray County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Murray County
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Murray County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,359, 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 Murray County's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Murray County
Murray County 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 Murray County.
Who works in Murray County, and how
Work in Murray County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Murray County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Murray County.
Is Murray County growing, and who is moving in?
Murray County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Nobles County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Murray County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Murray County, month by month
Murray County sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 43° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 47° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Murray County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Murray County
Schools across Murray County average a B+, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Murray Co. Central ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Tracy ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Rtr Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Luverne MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Pipestone MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Murray County Central SecondaryB+ · 57% proficient
- Tracy SecondaryB · 48% proficient
- Westbrook-walnut Grove SecondaryC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Murray County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Murray County 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 Murray County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Murray County
Is Murray County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Murray County ranks 684th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, state infrastructure, and the weather, and lowest on civic engagement and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Murray County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,077. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $73,359 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is Murray County safe?
Yes, Murray County is safer than 61% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
Compare Murray County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Murray County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Murray County 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.
Murray County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Murray County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Murray County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Murray County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Murray County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Murray County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.