Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of California.
Murphys’ best subject grades are a B+ for schools and a B for health; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. 49% of residents are 65 or older in Murphys, against 16% in California’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. The typical home is worth about $475K, 6 years of the county’s $79K median household income. Only 6 of the 848 California towns we compare have a higher midpoint age than Murphys. Murphys has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Murphys Hotel and Murphys Grammar School. Murphys has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Murphys beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Albert A. Michelson Elementary | K–5 | 226 |
Murphys HotelEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Murphys is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,183 in 1980, 1,995 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 2 maps from 1948 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Murphys is unincorporated, so Calaveras County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Murphys.
Murphys: 34% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Murphys | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 7.4% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 29% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.5 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Murphys | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5.6% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 25.8% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 23.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.5% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.9% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
The public schools here belong to the Vallecito Union school district. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Murphys’s public school: 226 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert A. Michelson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 226 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Murphys’ FEMA hazard score comes in at 91 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 64% come from wildfires and 27% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Murphys after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2022.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The midpoint rent for Murphys comes to $1,523 a month, where California’s towns sit at $1,896 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Homes locally are typically worth about $475,000, down 1.3% in a year, 38% below the California typical home. Also worth knowing: for households here, the share who own their home is 72%.
| Murphys | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,523 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Murphys, 13% of adults binge drink. CDC measures, 32 in all: Murphys beats California on 13 and trails on 7.
| Murphys | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Murphys | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.7% | 14.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Murphys rose by 127, to 631. Just 12% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. In Murphys, the typical journey to work is 17 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 47 miles away.
| Murphys | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Count the trails in 3 parks and preserves and they come to 1.4 miles. Murphys’ trail network density stands at 0.3 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 3, covering 9 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Feeney Park | — | 7 |
| 2. Murphys Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Murphys. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
38 mi LakeHetch Hetchy
13 mi State parkCalaveras Big Trees State Park
13 mi MuseumRailtown 1897 State Historic Park
25 mi National forestStanislaus National Forest
28 mi Ski areaDodge Ridge Ski Area61 runs · 1,576 ft verticalYosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hetch Hetchy: Vulpinus2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Calaveras Big Trees State Park: John J. O'Brien (talk · contribs), Public domain · Railtown 1897 State Historic Park: Ed Bierman, CC BY 2.0 · Stanislaus National Forest: U.S. National Park Service, Public domain · Dodge Ridge Ski Area: IanGad, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Murphys
About 6 of every 100 Murphys residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
2 places in Murphys on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census designated place in California, United States
Murphys, originally Murphys New Diggings then Murphy's Camp, is an unincorporated village located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 1,995 at the 2020 census, down from 2,213 at the 2010 census. A former gold mining settlement, the main street today is lined with over two dozen wine tasting rooms and surrounded by local vineyards. Nearby attractions include Calaveras Big Trees State Park, Bear Valley Ski Resort and historic Mercer Caverns. The world's largest crystalline gold leaf is displayed just south of town at Ironstone Vineyards. The town also hosts an annual Irish Day parade and street fair every March on…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Murphys.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murphys | — | — | D | — | B+ | B |
| Douglas Flat | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Murphys has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Murphys reports no FBI crime data of its own. Douglas Flat isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Murphys with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Public schools that outperform most of California.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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