Murrieta, California

Area Profile

112,064 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Murrieta, in Riverside County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,791st of 4,199 cities measured48
SchoolsTop 34% of 4,162 cities measured62
Growth2,154th of 4,224 cities measured50
Housing affordability3,545th of 4,218 cities measured45
ClimateTop 4% of 4,225 cities measured100
Physical resilience4,181st of 4,226 cities measured4
AccessTop 50% of 4,226 cities measured92
Economic stabilityTop 37% of 4,226 cities measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.1% and median household income $114,081, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 52% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.8 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 672 units authorized over the past twelve months, 37% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
112,064
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$114,081
Top 12% nationally
Density
3,166/sq mi
35.4 sq mi of land
Median age
36.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
RIV
22 mi · March ARB
Median home value
$639,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.1% — higher than in all but 22% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 49,176 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $114,081 is higher than in 88% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsRiverside County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$76,49157th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftRiverside County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$71,25448th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,4082024 ACS 5-Year$114,081Top 12%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0152024 ACS 5-Year$45,886Top 22%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%Top 27%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year39.8 minBottom 8%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year32.6%Top 27%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.2%34th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202649,176Bottom 46%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.7%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202651,83546th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%Bottom 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,160Bottom 31%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,400Bottom 25%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.1%Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%80th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.33.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.1% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024114k98k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $114,081 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides102,760$34,320
Stockers and Order Fillers77,160$43,200
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand69,820$46,060
Fast Food and Counter Workers51,310$42,280
Retail Salespersons41,270$36,720
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers40,230$60,580

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 67% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 23.8 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.8
across 22 of them
Math proficiency
51.9%
Top 25% in California
Reading proficiency
66.5%
Top 21% in California
The 12 largest of 24 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Vista Murrieta HighMurrieta Valley Unified3,32823.051%74%
Murrieta Valley HighMurrieta Valley Unified2,10422.646%73%
Murrieta Mesa HighMurrieta Valley Unified2,06622.038%71%
Thompson MiddleMurrieta Valley Unified1,56525.243%57%
Dorothy McElhinney MiddleMurrieta Valley Unified1,45125.056%69%
Shivela MiddleMurrieta Valley Unified1,28228.550%57%
Bella Vista MiddleTemecula Valley Unified1,24923.152%64%
Cole Canyon ElementaryMurrieta Valley Unified1,03825.974%74%
Lisa J. Mails ElementaryMurrieta Valley Unified1,00626.561%64%
Murrieta ElementaryMurrieta Valley Unified89326.358%66%
Alta Murrieta ElementaryMurrieta Valley Unified84925.065%68%
Antelope Hills ElementaryMurrieta Valley Unified83924.763%71%

52.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 107.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area is up 36% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,648 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.88% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,780, some 16% above the $2,388 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,780 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $111,200 a year, about 97% of the median household income here of $114,081.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,388 a month.

A median home at $639,800 costs 4.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $134,489, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
107.3

Prices here run about 7% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
34.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,780
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,388
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$639,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Murrieta’s median household income of $114,081, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2023107.3Bottom 30%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+35.9%31st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+98.4%58th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year4.8Bottom 10%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.5%37th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8292024 ACS 5-Year37,60399th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,240Bottom 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,680Bottom 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,780Bottom 9%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$702024 ACS 5-Year$2,388Bottom 3%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,8582024 ACS 5-Year$639,80093rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2062024 ACS 5-Year$5,64892nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,0962024 ACS 5-Year$134,489Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.88%44th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year34.0%Bottom 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2552024 ACS 5-Year45797th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%64th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%25th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4152024 ACS 5-Year1,45897th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

50/ 100
Ranks 2,154 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 112,539 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 1,666 units authorized in 2025, against 114 the year before.

90% of the 672 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Riverside County, which contains Murrieta, gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $76,491, above the $71,254 of households that moved out.

At 6.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
672
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.0
Top 24% nationally
Year over year
−37%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
90.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024113k111k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
23%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$76,491
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$71,254
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. San Bernardino County, CA 20,775 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Los Angeles County, CA 20,742 people · 21% of arrivals
  3. Orange County, CA 16,097 people · 16% of arrivals
  4. San Diego County, CA 12,708 people · 13% of arrivals
  5. Clark County, NV 1,441 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. San Bernardino County, CA 17,635 people · 19% of departures
  2. Los Angeles County, CA 10,934 people · 12% of departures
  3. Orange County, CA 8,941 people · 9.6% of departures
  4. San Diego County, CA 8,425 people · 9.0% of departures
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 2,705 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Riverside County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420252k114
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+618%).

Weather & climate

12 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 47°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 15.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 87, in the Moderate band, and about 147 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FALLBROOK 5 NE, 9.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1742024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals15.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals121991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year1472024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year872024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
87
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
174
90th percentile index
Days above 100
147
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

4 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 50% of it.

WildfireHigh
Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeHigh
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, hail, winter weather, volcanic activity, drought, strong wind, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, ice storm.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
186
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
860
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Murrieta's police department reported 186 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 860.

Riverside County records 3.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 6.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 21.4 per 100,000 residents in Riverside County.

Homicide
3.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
21.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Murrieta’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Murrieta (Riverside County) rather than Murrieta itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest March ARB at 22 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year96.1%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle22 miBottom 41%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle9Top 5%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%Top 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
March ARBRIV22 mi13,302 ft
San Bernardino IntlSBD36 mi10,000 ft
Ontario IntlONT41 mi12,197 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Where Murrieta ranks

Top-ten placements in AreaProfile’s standing rankings

Every ranking is a standing calculation over all published profiles, not an editorial selection. Each one states its cohort, its inputs and what it excludes.

Other cities in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
RiversideRiverside County319,06946Riverside vs Murrieta
San BernardinoSan Bernardino County222,72439San Bernardino vs Murrieta
FontanaSan Bernardino County214,16947Fontana vs Murrieta
Moreno ValleyRiverside County211,66640
OntarioSan Bernardino County180,54745
Rancho CucamongaSan Bernardino County175,41151
CoronaRiverside County159,67051
VictorvilleSan Bernardino County137,62735
TemeculaRiverside County111,16752
MenifeeRiverside County110,30550
Jurupa ValleyRiverside County107,01144
RialtoSan Bernardino County104,14343

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Murrieta side by side with a similar place.

Murrieta vs TemeculaMurrieta vs Glendora

Moving to Murrieta from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Murrieta

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Murrieta with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Murrieta closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9256380,379$125,397$645,700—
9256264,781$114,266$663,600—