Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.

Safety71#885/3,096
Economy23#2,416/3,143
Housing61#1,224/3,140
Health31#2,155/3,144
Healthcare13#2,739/3,143
Environment41#1,832/3,108
Education7#2,914/3,144
Infrastructure42#1,818/3,144
Community8#2,880/3,144
Leisure & amenities3#3,036/3,143

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Murray County, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Hospital quality rating · high5.0
97/100Georgia 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Property crime rate · low186 /100k
96/100Georgia 1,409 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of Investigation
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
88/100Georgia 0.79%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Mental health care shortage · low10.0
85/100Georgia 9.6United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services Administration
Violent crime rate · low88 /100k
85/100Georgia 297 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of Investigation
Distance to an airport · low30 mi
83/100Georgia 42 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau

Weaknesses

Income adjusted for local prices · low$45,823
3/100Georgia $65,432United States $73,2042024U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
High school diploma or higher · low78.9%
3/100Georgia 89.2%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Grocery stores · low0.5 /10k
4/100Georgia 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Loneliness · high38.1%
5/100Georgia 37.9%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Social associations · low3.4 /10k
6/100Georgia 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
Restaurants and bars · low3.1 /10k
7/100Georgia 8.5 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Trends

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

Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 67% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+67 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
Mental health providersImproving
12 /100k (2021) → 41 /100k (2025)
+229%4 yearsUS 282 /100k → 348 /100k
New homes permittedImproving
1.5 /1k (2021) → 3.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+110%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Homicide rateImproving
4.1 /100k (2021) → 0.0 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
Property crime rateImproving
1,131 /100k (2020) → 186 /100k (2025)
−84%5 yearsUS 1,929 /100k → 1,535 /100k
Violent crime rateImproving
284 /100k (2020) → 88 /100k (2025)
−69%5 yearsUS 389 /100k → 328 /100k

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, Murray County, Georgia improved on 12 of 32 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 18 moved within the margin of error and 2 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among counties: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2020 with 2025); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved12

High school++8.1 points70.7% → 78.9%
Property crime−84%1,131 /100k → 186 /100k
Uninsured−4.3 points20.4% → 16.1%
Violent crime−69%284 /100k → 88 /100k
Bachelor's++5 points10.1% → 15.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 32 measures

Change of every measure of Murray County, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	1.5 /10k2020	1.4 /10k2025	−3.9%	Within the margin of error	27%
Average commute time	26.9 min2015-2019	28.4 min2020-2024	+1.5 min	Within the margin of error	29%
Average weekly wage	$7382020	$8942025	+21%	Improved	31%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.1%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	84%
Broadband subscriptions	77.5%2015-2019	86.8%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Improved	44%
Child poverty rate	20.8%2019	19.8%2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Distance to an airport	30 mi2020	30 mi2025	0 mi	Little change	50%
Drug overdose deaths	22.2 /100k2020	12.6 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−43%	Within the margin of error	68%
Effective property tax rate	0.65%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	78%
Firearm deaths	13.3 /100k2020	15.9 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+20%	Within the margin of error	23%
Grocery stores	0.5 /10k2020	0.5 /10k2025	−3.9%	Within the margin of error	39%
Gyms and fitness centers	1.0 /10k2020	0.5 /10k2025	−52%	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	70.7%2015-2019	78.9%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Improved	97%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	54%
Homicide rate	4.7 /100k2020	0.0 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−100%	Within the margin of error	92%
Income adjusted for local prices	$35,5982019	$45,8232024	+29%	Improved	30%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4102015-2019	0.4372020-2024	+0.028	Within the margin of error	16%
Median household income	$50,0612019	$61,2572024	+22%	Improved	36%
New business applications	4.9 /1k2020	7.9 /1k2025	+60%	Improved	69%
Pharmacies	2.3 /10k2020	2.2 /10k2025	−3.9%	Within the margin of error	53%
Poverty rate	14.5%2019	15.7%2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Property crime rate	1,131 /100k2020	186 /100k2025	−84%	Improved	99%
Public libraries	0.3 /10k2019	0.2 /10k2024	−3.4%	Within the margin of error	34%
Rent as share of income	24.2%2015-2019	25.8%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	36.7%2015-2019	43.3%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Restaurants and bars	2.8 /10k2020	3.1 /10k2025	+14%	Within the margin of error	78%
Students per teacher	15.7×2019	14.2×2024	−1.5×	Improved	78%
Suicide rate	20.2 /100k2020	20.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+3%	Within the margin of error	51%
Traffic deaths	16.6 /100k2015-2019	20.2 /100k2020-2024	+22%	Within the margin of error	31%
Unemployment rate	6.2%2020	3.8%2025	−2.4 points	Improved	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.4%2019	16.1%2024	−4.3 points	Improved	93%
Violent crime rate	284 /100k2020	88 /100k2025	−69%	Improved	96%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 2303 counties that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Small Area Health Insurance Estimates; Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Common Core of Data; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 3144 counties 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.

Counties like Murray County, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Murray County, Georgia 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, Murray County, Georgia itself moved +1.4 points in standing on average over the same 32 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

40,562 residents

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

15,246 households (±277)

Murray County, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k17%2,626
$25k–50k22%3,393
$50k–75k15%2,320

Homes

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

Owners and renters

15,246 households (±277)

Murray County, Georgia
Georgia share

Own74%11,256
Rent26%3,990

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+4.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

19,044 workers (±638)

Murray County, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone85%16,134
Carpool7.2%1,364
Public transit0.5%†100

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Dalton, GA

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.

Murray County has 430 employer establishments, 105 for every 10,000 residents (0.42× the US rate of 248; 0.44× Georgia's), with 6,488 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,527. The Census Bureau also counts 2,512 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 430; 2,512 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 105; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 6,488
Average annual pay: $45,527; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	37	9	0.49×Fewer than typical	586	$17,706	8
Ambulatory health care services	31	7.6	0.36×Fewer than typical	204	$59,250	73
Limited-service restaurants	27	6.6	0.82×About typical	500	$16,306	3
Specialty trade contractors	24	5.9	0.38×Fewer than typical	155	$43,916	319
Gasoline stations	20	4.9	1.50×More than typical	85	$26,553	—
General merchandise stores	17	4.1	2.35×More than typical	126	$19,984	12
Religious organizations	14	3.4	0.62×Fewer than typical	76	$19,553	—
Offices of physicians	13	3.2	0.49×Fewer than typical	48	$79,167	4
Truck transportation	13	3.2	0.63×Fewer than typical	37	$54,622	121
Building equipment contractors	12	2.9	0.49×Fewer than typical	105	$40,314	58
Grocery and convenience stores	10	2.4	0.82×About typical	424	$19,439	12
Services to buildings and dwellings	10	2.4	0.36×Fewer than typical	86	$44,384	281

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 41,012 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 contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $3.2M on contracts performed in Murray County, Georgia: $76.30 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.2M; +38% vs FY2025
Per resident: $76.30; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.6%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.7%; 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

Forest Service$2.6M83%
Department of the Army$518.1K16%

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $218.4M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Murray County, Georgia: $5,250 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $218.4M; −2.2% vs FY2025
Per resident: $5,250; US $12,955
Loan face value: $12.6M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 0.7%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$132M60%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$34.1M16%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$15.4M7.1%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$13.9M6.4%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$9.8M4.5%
20.205 · Highway Planning and Construction$4.6M2.1%
64.110 · Veterans Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for Service-Connected Death$1.6M0.7%
20.287 · Surface Transportation Block Grant Program$1.4M0.6%

Top recipients (organizations)

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION$6M2.7%
ATLANTA, GA
CONVERGED NETWORKS, LLC$576.7K0.3%
CHARLESTON, SC
CHATSWORTH HOUSING AUTHORITY$335.3K0.2%
CHATSWORTH, GA
ZAYO EDUCATION, LLC$255.2K0.1%
NASHVILLE, TN
MURRAY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE$251.7K

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$189.8M87%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$18.4M8.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Highway Administration$6M2.7%
Department of Transportation
Federal Communications Commission$1.1M0.5%
Farm Service Agency$881.9K0.4%

Assistance by fiscal year

173MFY2021
177.2MFY2022
188.3MFY2023
201.4MFY2024
223.4MFY2025
218.4MFY2026

County aggregates

96%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Explore grants in Murray County, Georgia

Public money & outcomes

Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.

How Murray County, Georgia compares: the federal money it received per resident, and how jobs, income, housing and other outcomes moved, each next to the United States.

Money per resident

By federal fiscal year (October to September, named by the year it ends), obligations per resident. A year with no record counts as $0.

Murray County, Georgia
United States
partial year

Federal contractsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Murray County, Georgia and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Murray County, Georgia	United States
FY2017

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.

Murray County, Georgia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Clay FullerR-GA-14 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

Metro area

The metro or micro area Murray County belongs to. A county is in at most one.

Dalton, GA19Outlying county

Cities and towns in Murray County

Places whose residents live mostly in Murray County, largest first.

Neighboring counties

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar counties

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-03
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08

JSON · /api/v1/places/13213

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Murray County, Georgia	United States
FY2017	$21.02	$93.28
FY2018	$4.74	$105
FY2019	$1.36	$128
FY2020	-$0.04	$145
FY2021	$0	$117
FY2022	$1.00	$138
FY2023	$3.05	$159
FY2024	$0.80	$157
FY2025	$9.46	$149
FY2026	$58.02 (partial year)	$211

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Murray County, Georgia	United States
FY2021	$153	$5,748
FY2022	$154	$5,221
FY2023	$67.59	$5,364
FY2024	$198	$5,501
FY2025	$250	$5,732
FY2026	$242 (partial year)	$5,446

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Murray County, Georgia	United States
FY2021	$76.04	$298
FY2022	$60.77	$357
FY2023	$10.86	$301
FY2024	$111	$319
FY2025	$168	$360
FY2026	$144 (partial year)	$349

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Murray County, Georgia	United States
FY2021	$16.85	$239
FY2022	$13.00	$185
FY2023	$21.53	$229
FY2024	$10.47	$229
FY2025	$17.29	$249
FY2026	$17.59 (partial year)	$201

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Murray County, Georgia	United States
FY2021	$486	$1,186
FY2022	$302	$465
FY2023	-$3.49	$76.52
FY2024	$14.64	$120
FY2025	$67.98	$148
FY2026	$41.34 (partial year)	$108

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	6.6%	2.0%
2015	−5.8%	2.1%
2016	10.2%	1.7%
2017	−8.9%	1.4%
2018	−1.8%	1.6%
2019	−8.4%	1.4%
2020	−9.3%	−6.1%
2021	3.9%	3.4%
2022	4.2%	4.3%
2023	1.4%	2.1%
2024	0.5%	1.2%
2025	−1.1%	0.5%

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	−7.2%	−4.2%
2015	−8.0%	−1.3%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	−1.9%	+3.3%
2018	+1.8%	+6.8%
2019

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	9.4%	6.2%
2015	7.5%	5.3%
2016	5.9%	4.9%
2017	5.1%	4.4%
2018	4.4%	3.9%
2019	4.3%

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	−5.3%	−5.5%
2015	−2.3%	−1.9%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+4.2%	+4.1%
2018	+7.7%	+8.9%
2019

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	0.6/1k	3.3/1k
2015	1.0/1k	3.7/1k
2016	1.1/1k	3.7/1k
2017	2.4/1k	3.9/1k
2018	1.5/1k	4.1/1k
2019

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	−5.2%	−6.9%
2015	−0.1%	−3.2%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+6.4%	+4.7%
2018	+8.3%	+7.5%
2019

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	18.7%	15.5%
2015	17.8%	14.7%
2016	18.1%	14.0%
2017	17.2%	13.4%
2018	15.2%	13.1%
2019	14.5%

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	−10.9% (Dec 2014)	−10.8% (Dec 2014)
2015	−5.4% (Dec 2015)	−5.2% (Dec 2015)
2016	0.0% (Dec 2016)	0.0% (Dec 2016)
2017

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	22.7%	13.5%
2015	19.9%	10.9%
2016	19.3%	10.0%
2017	20.5%	10.2%
2018	21.3%	10.4%
2019

Calendar years	Murray County, Georgia	United States
2014	3.3/1k	8.5/1k
2015	3.2/1k	8.7/1k
2016	3.4/1k	9.1/1k
2017	4.1/1k	9.8/1k
2018	3.9/1k	10.7/1k
2019

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends