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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-MURPHY-MO · Murphy, MO 8,566 pop · income 54th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Murphy
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Murphy on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Park Hills · lowest
51,303
Park Hills · lowest
51,303 median HH income
39.3% of the leader · rank #1
Abington · near
73,371
Abington · near
73,371 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #2
Murphy · this city
73,373
Murphy · this city
73,373 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #3
Albion · near
73,375
Albion · near
73,375 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #4
Toomsuba · near
73,380
Toomsuba · near
73,380 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #5
Long Branch · near
73,381
Long Branch · near
73,381 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #6
Innsbrook · highest
130,534
Innsbrook · highest
130,534 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Murphy on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 8,566.
Nationally, Murphy sits in the 54th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
54th
percentile, household income
36th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Murphy, MO
Murphy is a small town in Missouri, home to 8,566 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Murphy brings in $73,373 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.2%. Home values in Murphy run a median of $177,500, and the median resident age is 36.7 years. Educational attainment runs 20.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 64.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: the state registers 90.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $972 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Missouri run around $219, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 50.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Murphy's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Murphy, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Murphy?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Murphy?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Which cities make useful reference points for Murphy?
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Olivette (8,539 residents, $105,898 income); Perryville (8,530 residents, $53,958 income); Oak Grove (8,477 residents, $73,237 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hollymead, VA (8,566 residents); Gering, NE (8,567 residents); Baltimore Highlands, MD (8,564 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Above median income · poverty 6.2% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
C
City profile score · Murphy, MO
59/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A-
90.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate C
6.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$73,373
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Murphy profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Poverty rate: 58/100 (C) · 6.2%
Household income: 53/100 (C-) · $73,373
Bachelor's+ share: 36/100 (F) · 20.5%
How does Murphy compare to other US cities?
Here's how Murphy stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income54% higher than other cities
Home value36% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Murphy against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Missouri only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Missouri-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Murphy near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Murphy ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Murphy only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#193 of 842
77th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#223 of 833
73rd percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#570 of 875
35th percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#293 of 875
66th percentile in Missouri
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Missouri only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
54th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Murphy's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$177,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 64% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Murphy's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,595 of 15,516
More affordable than 77% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,268 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Murphy sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,595 of 15,516 and #3,268 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$73,373Murphy, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Murphy, MO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Murphy, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,566
Median Income
$73,373
Median Home Value
$177,500
Median Age
36.7
Poverty Rate
6.2%
Labor force participation
64.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.5%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.8%
Carpool
12.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.5%
Work from Home
11.1%
Other
1.6%
Based on 4,326 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Missouri statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $219
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Missouri at $219 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Missouri statewide averages, not a meter reading for Murphy. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Missouri's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Murphy is $972/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Missouri statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Missouri statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Murphy sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Murphy compares to similar-size Missouri cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.