Census-designated place · Calaveras County, California

Murphys, California

Murphys is a census-designated place in Calaveras County, California. It has 1,951 residents. Murphys, California has a quality-of-life score of 32 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,661 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #595 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), drought exposure (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), natural hazard risk (high) and math scores (low).

32Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,661 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #595 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 1,951 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 359.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0650034

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety26#11,631/15,637
Economy63#5,817/15,631
Housing10#13,484/14,977
Health68#4,947/15,609
Healthcare40#9,374/15,650
Environment69#4,788/15,453
Education7#14,533/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,332/15,650
Community35#10,121/15,651
Leisure & amenities58#6,577/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Murphys, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Calaveras County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Job growth · high3.8%
96/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCalaveras County value
Drought exposure · low0%
96/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACalaveras County value
Grocery stores · high3.0 /10k
94/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCalaveras County value
Public libraries · high2.2 /10k
92/100California 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCalaveras County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.1 µg/m³
88/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCalaveras County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,933 /100k
87/100California 2,428 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCalaveras County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high22.6×
2/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCalaveras County value
Natural hazard risk · high98.3
2/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCalaveras County value
Math scores · low2.49
3/100California 2.79United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCalaveras County value
Home price to income ratio · high7.2×
4/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High school diploma or higher · low92.0%
5/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Distance to an emergency room · high16.2 mi
6/100California 4.3 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCalaveras County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,188 (2015-2019) → 1,951 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 16.7% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.2% (2015-2019) → 47.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$48,246 (2015-2019) → $73,571 (2020-2024)
+52%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
24.6% (2015-2019) → 33.9% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
33.2% (2015-2019) → 28.6% (2020-2024)
−4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Murphys, California improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Bachelor's++9.3 points24.6% → 33.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Murphys, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.5 min2015-2019	17.1 min2020-2024	−2.4 min	Within the margin of error	74%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.6%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Improved	88%
Broadband subscriptions	78.4%2015-2019	83.0%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Effective property tax rate	0.77%2015-2019	0.61%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	92.1%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Home price to income ratio	6.3×2015-2019	7.1×2020-2024	+0.9×	Within the margin of error	27%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5462015-2019	0.4752020-2024	−0.070	Within the margin of error	90%
Median household income	$48,2462015-2019	$73,5712020-2024	+52%	Within the margin of error	87%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	33.2%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Rent-burdened households	60.2%2015-2019	47.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	87%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Murphys, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Murphys, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Murphys, California itself moved +10 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,951 residents (±429)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,008 households (±163)

Murphys, California
California share

Under $25k15%†155
$25k–50k25%†252
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,008 households (±163)

Murphys, California
California share

Own72%721
Rent28%†287

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

775 workers (±247)

Murphys, California
California share

Drive alone70%†539
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Calaveras County, the county holding most of Murphys's residents.

Calaveras County has 986 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.81× California's), with 7,149 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,430. The Census Bureau also counts 3,628 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 986; 3,628 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 7,149
Average annual pay: $47,430; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Calaveras County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	135	29	1.87×More than typical	589	$81,153	282
Restaurants and other eating places	88	18.9	1.03×About typical	877	$22,986	11
Construction of buildings	72	15.5	2.05×More than typical	209	$77,641	194
Ambulatory health care services	46	9.9	0.47×Fewer than typical	215	$66,116	152
Lessors of real estate	44	9.4	0.77×Fewer than typical	114	$39,421	420
Full-service restaurants	42	9	1.17×About typical	357	$24,174	4
Building equipment contractors	38	8.2	1.36×More than typical	232	$74,250	60
Building finishing contractors	37	7.9	2.09×More than typical	100	$57,630	74
Limited-service restaurants	31	6.7	0.83×About typical	402	$21,751	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	30	6.4	2.04×More than typical	109	$71,303	39
Other specialty trade contractors	30	6.4	2.57×More than typical	148	$115,122	109
Services to buildings and dwellings	29	6.2	0.92×About typical	75	$35,053	261

Rank places for an industry Open Calaveras County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 46,563 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Murphys, California: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

11.6KFY2021
1.6KFY2022

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Murphys, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Murphys, California's figures are part of those of Calaveras County, CA ($2.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Murphys is mostly in Calaveras County.

See federal money in Calaveras County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Murphys, California is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Tom McClintockR-CA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 3.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Calaveras County46100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Calaveras County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0650034

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends