42071 — Murray, Kentucky

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 42071. Its median household income runs 14% above Murray as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 36% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity2,860th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured30
SchoolsTop 7% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured84
Growth1,842nd of 3,124 ZIP areas measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured80
ClimateTop 33% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilience2,137th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured42
Access3,043rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured47
Economic stability2,639th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured30
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places 42071 in the bottom 8%. The unemployment rate is published for Murray, KY, which contains 42071, rather than for 42071 alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 61% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 7% of published profiles for schools.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most ZIP areas measured: rent takes 27% of renter income and the median home is 2.9 times what its owners earn.

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
30,981
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$50,198
Bottom 15% nationally
Density
148/sq mi
208.9 sq mi of land
Median age
33.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Murray
Kentucky
Micro area
Nearest major airport
MWA
88 mi · Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois
Median home value
$190,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Murray, KY, which contains 42071, is 5.9% — higher than in all but 10% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Murray, KY, which contains 42071, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 15,758 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $50,198 is lower than in 85% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCalloway County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,1015th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCalloway County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$44,3302nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,5882024 ACS 5-Year$50,198Bottom 15%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8192024 ACS 5-Year$29,217Bottom 24%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year15.4%Bottom 29%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.7 minTop 8%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year33.2%Top 29%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%54th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMurray, KY’s figureJuly 202615,758Bottom 12%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Murray, KY’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 38%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Murray, KY’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Bottom 39%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceMurray, KY’s figureJuly 202616,75212th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.1%Bottom 38%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%59th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Murray, KY’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 46%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateMurray, KY’s figureJuly 20265.9%Bottom 10%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%33rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202450k44k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $50,198 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Murray, KY, the city containing this ZIP code.

61% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 65% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.0 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.0
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
61.3%
Top 5% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
64.9%
Top 7% in Kentucky
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Calloway County High SchoolCalloway County82417.939%48%
Murray Middle SchoolMurray Independent64514.772%79%
Murray High SchoolMurray Independent60717.372%67%
Calloway County Middle SchoolCalloway County60716.463%67%
North Calloway Elementary SchoolCalloway County59614.958%58%
Murray Elementary SchoolMurray Independent58914.777%77%
Southwest Calloway Elementary SchoolCalloway County39915.360%69%
East Calloway Elementary SchoolCalloway County31014.852%57%
Calloway County Preschool CenterCalloway County16720.9——
Murray Preschool Head StartMurray Independent10515.0——
Calloway County Day TreatmentCalloway County71.8——
Murray/Calloway County Area Tech CenterKentucky Tech System0———

54.7% 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 Kentucky’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky is up 51% over five years, and up 5.6% 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 $1,225 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.64% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,098, some 24% above the $884 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,098 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $43,900 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $50,198.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $884 a month.

A median home at $190,300 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $66,529, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,098
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$884
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$190,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 42071’s median household income of $50,198, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%86th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+50.5%77th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+91.9%45th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 45%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year60.0%16th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3902024 ACS 5-Year14,32591st percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$837Top 12%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,317Top 10%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,098Top 17%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$572024 ACS 5-Year$884Top 35%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,0192024 ACS 5-Year$190,30042nd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$1,22526th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,8162024 ACS 5-Year$66,529Bottom 26%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.64%27th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.7%Top 40%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1512024 ACS 5-Year32491st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%61st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%78th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2962024 ACS 5-Year2,19897th percentileof 33,7722024 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.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 1,842 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 26 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Murray, KY, which contains 42071, rather than for 42071 alone.

At 1.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Murray, KY, which contains 42071, rather than for 42071 alone.

Units permitted
26
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.4
Bottom 29% nationally
Year over year
+44%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
54%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$47,101
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$44,330
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Marshall County, KY 211 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Graves County, KY 207 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Henry County, TN 123 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  4. McCracken County, KY 95 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  5. Christian County, KY 37 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Marshall County, KY 232 people · 13% of departures
  2. Graves County, KY 175 people · 9.6% of departures
  3. McCracken County, KY 145 people · 8.0% of departures
  4. Henry County, TN 88 people · 4.8% of departures
  5. Montgomery County, TN 34 people · 1.9% 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 Calloway County, KY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Murray, KY, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 27°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 58.1 inches, including 6.5 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MURRAY, 1.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals58.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals6.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals27°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

42 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and tornado, with earthquake alone responsible for 47% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeElevated
Ice stormModerate
Winter weatherModerate
TornadoModerate
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate
Strong windModerate
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, lightning, heat wave, inland flooding, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
14.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
24.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

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 42071 (Calloway County) rather than 42071 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Murray carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this 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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois at 88 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.9%Bottom 24%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle88 miBottom 2%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%Bottom 39%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Veterans Airport of Southern IllinoisMWA88 mi8,012 ft
Nashville IntlBNA95 mi11,030 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB99 mi8,000 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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Area Score
54
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.

42071 vs Murray

How this ZIP area compares with Murray as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

42071
Murray
Median household income: 42071 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$50,198
vs
$44,091
Per capita income: 42071 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$29,217
vs
$26,129
Population density
148/sq mi
vs
1,546/sq mi
Median home value
$190,300
vs
$195,000
Median gross rent: Murray is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$884
vs
$870
Homeownership rate
60.0%
vs
41.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Murray is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
33.2%
vs
36.1%
Poverty rate: 42071 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
15.4%
vs
18.3%
Median age
33.9
vs
25.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.