An established, built-out suburb split between Plano ISD and Wylie ISD.
Curious how Murphy stacks up against nearby options? Let's talk through current inventory, new-build timelines, and off-market opportunities tailored to you.
Murphy is a finished suburb, and that is the most useful thing to know about it. The City of Murphy’s own Community Development materials describe a city that is largely developed with limited vacant land, and its new Comprehensive Master Plan is about redevelopment and site-specific opportunity districts, not greenfield expansion. So the inventory here is resale, the neighborhoods are grown-in, and the growth story belongs to other cities. What Murphy offers instead is location and an established fabric: it sits in south-central Collin County against Plano, Richardson, Parker, Sachse and Wylie, with the eastern end of the President George Bush Turnpike just south of town. Median household income is $175,699 and homeownership runs 93.7% (US Census ACS 2024 5-year). The one thing to get right before you shop: Murphy is split between Plano ISD and Wylie ISD, by address.
Established resale suburb: grown-in master-planned neighborhoods, conventional suburban lots, near build-out
Summers are hot and sunny with highs in the mid-to-upper 90s°F. Winters stay mild - expect 50°F afternoons mixed with the occasional cold snap. North Texas averages 229 sunny days, roughly 41 inches of rain, and minimal snow each year.
Match your wish list - from walkable districts to gated communities - with these buyer favorites. Mali can share recent closings, HOA nuances, and off-market conversations for each pocket.
Murphy’s large master-planned community, and the one corroborated by the city itself: Water’s Edge Park (403 Waters Edge Way) sits inside it, and the Maxwell Creek trail system runs through it. Grown-in and established, like most of Murphy.
A separate HOA from Maxwell Creek proper. Worth knowing, because the dues, rules and amenities are not the same association’s.
A well-established Murphy subdivision in the 75094 zip code, in Collin County. It was built out over roughly 2002 to 2014, so the streets are finished and the landscaping is mature.
An established Murphy subdivision that dates to the community’s earlier growth, built out over roughly 2000 to 2004. That makes it one of the more mature neighborhoods in an already built-out city: full-grown trees, finished streets and neighbors who have been there a long time.
An established Murphy subdivision: conventional suburban single-family housing on standard lots, in a small city that built out through the 2000s and has been a stable resale market ever since.
An established Murphy subdivision with the city’s characteristic larger homes. Murphy built out largely in the 2000s with houses noticeably bigger than those of the same vintage in Wylie or Sachse, and that, plus a Plano ISD assignment for much of the city, is what separates its prices from its neighbors’.
An established subdivision close to the city’s civic core. Murphy grew fast in the 2000s and then stopped, which gives it a settled quality the still-building cities further north do not have: finished streets, grown landscaping, and a resale market not competing with a builder’s sales office.
An established Murphy subdivision, and its name points at what distinguishes the older pockets of this city: larger lots from the era before Murphy's 2000s build-out filled in the remaining land with production housing.
An established Murphy subdivision of conventional suburban single-family housing.
Understanding Murphy's community composition helps buyers match lifestyle preferences with neighborhood character. The figures below reference recent American Community Survey estimates and city planning reports.
Total Population
21,188
US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate (2020-2024). Murphy is at or near build-out and its population is essentially flat. It is not a growth market.
Population Density
≈3,719 per sq mi
US Census ACS 2024 5-year. Roughly an order of magnitude denser than nearby Lucas: the difference between conventional suburban lots and acre-plus minimums.
Median Household Income
$175,699
US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate, margin of error ±$16,778.
Homeownership Rate
93.7%
Computed from US Census ACS 2024 5-year table B25003: 5,638 owner-occupied of 6,015 occupied units. There are only about 6,030 housing units in the entire city.
Median Age
41.7 years
US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate (±2.3 years).
Murphy Middle SchoolMiddle
Plano ISD. Physically located in Murphy.
Armstrong Middle SchoolMiddle
Plano ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Boggess ElementaryElementary
Plano ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Hickey ElementaryElementary
Plano ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Martha Hunt ElementaryElementary
Plano ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Miller ElementaryElementary
Plano ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
McMillen High SchoolHigh
Plano ISD, grades 9-10 in the district’s high school / senior high model.
Williams High SchoolHigh
Plano ISD, grades 9-10 in the district’s high school / senior high model.
Plano East Senior High SchoolHigh
Plano ISD, grades 11-12. The senior high that Plano ISD students in Murphy feed into.
Tibbals ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Physically located in Murphy.
Whitt ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Serves Murphy addresses; the campus itself is outside the city.
Akin PM ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Birmingham ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Cheri Cox ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Hartman ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
R.V. Groves ElementaryElementary
Wylie ISD. Listed by the City of Murphy as serving Murphy addresses.
Draper IntermediateMiddle
Wylie ISD intermediate campus serving Murphy addresses.
Harrison IntermediateMiddle
Wylie ISD intermediate campus serving Murphy addresses.
Burnett Junior HighMiddle
Wylie ISD junior high serving Murphy addresses.
Cooper Junior HighMiddle
Wylie ISD junior high serving Murphy addresses.
Wylie High SchoolHigh
Wylie ISD, grades 9-12.
Moving to Murphy means lining up the right vendor team, understanding seasonal weather shifts, and comparing neighborhoods before touring. Mali guides you through scouting trips, remote video tours, and negotiation strategy so your Murphy plan comes together smoothly.
Answers to common questions about living, buying, and relocating to Murphy, Texas.
Two of them: Plano ISD and Wylie ISD. There is no single answer, and this is the most consequential fact in a Murphy home search. The City of Murphy publishes both districts’ campus lists on its own School Districts & Schools page. The split broadly tracks the city’s position between Plano to the west and Wylie to the east, but it is decided by address, and two nearly identical houses on opposite sides of a boundary can feed different high schools. Never accept “Murphy is Plano ISD” or “Murphy is Wylie ISD” without checking the specific address with the district.
On the Plano ISD side: Boggess, Hickey, Martha Hunt and Miller Elementary; Murphy Middle School and Armstrong Middle School; McMillen and Williams High School (grades 9-10 in Plano ISD’s model), feeding Plano East Senior High (11-12). On the Wylie ISD side: Tibbals, Whitt, Akin PM, Birmingham, Cheri Cox, Hartman and R.V. Groves Elementary; Draper and Harrison Intermediate; Burnett and Cooper Junior High; and Wylie High School. Murphy Middle School and Tibbals Elementary are the two campuses confirmed as physically inside Murphy; several of the others serve Murphy addresses from campuses in Plano, Wylie or Sachse.
No, and any pitch that says otherwise is selling you a different city’s story. Murphy is essentially built out. The City of Murphy’s own Community Development materials state the city is largely developed with limited vacant land available, and its new Comprehensive Master Plan is built around redevelopment and site-specific Murphy Opportunity Districts rather than greenfield expansion. In practice that means very little new construction, an inventory that is almost entirely resale, and a population that is essentially flat at about 21,188 (ACS 2024 5-year).
The US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate puts the median value of an owner-occupied Murphy home at about $555,500 (±$25,000). Redfin reported a median sale price of $584,650 in May 2026, up 1.7% year over year. Murphy has enough monthly closing volume for that median to mean something, and the small, steady year-over-year move is exactly what you would expect from a built-out resale market rather than a speculative one.
The ACS mean travel time to work for Murphy residents is 32.2 minutes (US Census ACS 2024 5-year). Murphy has no freeway inside the city, so every trip starts on FM 544 or FM 2551 (N Murphy Road). Its real advantage over Lucas or Melissa is the President George Bush Turnpike, whose eastern terminus sits immediately south of the city, giving a fast run west toward Richardson, Plano, Carrollton and DFW Airport. US-75 is reached west through Plano; SH-78 runs southeast toward Garland.
Murphy is a commuter town. It has no major corporate or industrial employer, and nearing build-out it has no industrial or logistics pipeline either. The local employment base is retail and services along FM 544: The Corridor at Murphy, anchored by Walmart, Lowe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market and 24 Hour Fitness, plus Plano ISD and Wylie ISD campuses and the city government. Those are commercial anchors, not a ranking of biggest employers by headcount; no such ranking exists. Residents commute to Plano, Richardson, Frisco and Dallas.
It is an established, affluent, grown-in suburb rather than a frontier. Homeownership is 93.7% and there are only about 6,030 housing units in the whole city (ACS 2024 5-year), so neighborhoods are stable and turnover is low. Daily life runs through Murphy Central Park, the Maxwell Creek trail system, and The Corridor at Murphy on FM 544, and once a year, Murphy Maize Days.
Very rarely. Murphy is built out by the city’s own account, with limited vacant land, and whatever change comes next will come from infill and redevelopment. If a new build with a builder’s warranty is a requirement, you will have better luck in Melissa, Anna, Princeton or Celina. If mature landscaping and a finished neighborhood are what you actually want, that trade works in your favor here.
Have more questions about Murphy? Contact Mali at yourealtordfw@gmail.com or call (972) 408-6939.
Get a free comparative market analysis to discover what your home is worth in today's Murphy market.
Every North Texas suburb brings unique advantages. Whether you're weighing school ratings, commute times, or neighborhood character, Mali will map your priorities against current market inventory.
Every public campus inside Murphy city limits, with the letter grade and score the Texas Education Agency published for it in 2025. Enrolment and grades come straight from TEA's accountability download and the federal school directory, so nothing here is a third-party score that nobody refreshes.
Murphy is split across 2 school districts. Two houses on the same street can feed different districts, and boundaries in this corridor get redrawn most years as new campuses open. Confirm the assignment for the exact address with the district before you write an offer - and if the school is a reason you are buying, ask Mali to put the district's written confirmation in your file.
Plano ISD · Grades PreK-5
Plano ISD · Grades K-5
Plano ISD · Grades 6-8
Plano ISD · Grades 9-10
Murphy homes are taxed by 4 separate governments, and the combined 2025 adopted rate is 1.63% per year of appraised value. That is the number before any exemption and before the special districts below - which is why the figure on a listing page and the figure on your first tax bill are so rarely the same.
| Taxing unit | Rate per $100 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Plano ISD | 1.039550 | 64% |
| City of Murphy | 0.357514 | 22% |
| Collin County | 0.149343 | 9% |
| College district | 0.081220 | 5% |
| Combined | 1.627627 | 100% |
Collin County has no hospital district, which is the main structural reason its cities run below their Dallas County neighbours rather than anything about how Murphy budgets.
No exemption
$8,138
What an investor or second-home owner pays.
With homestead
$6,564
Effective rate 1.3128% of market value.
You keep
$1,574
Per year, once the exemption is filed and granted.
| Unit | Exemption | Taxed on | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plano ISD | $140,000 | $360,000 | $3,742 |
| City | none adopted | $500,000 | $1,788 |
| County | $25,000 | $475,000 | $709 |
| College district | $100,000 | $400,000 | $325 |
Every school district in Texas must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value. Cities, counties and college districts may each adopt up to 20% on top, and several here adopt nothing at all - which is why this has to be worked out one unit at a time rather than netted against the combined rate. Year one is billed at full market value; the 10% appraisal cap starts the January after your exemption is granted.
Collin County has 28 special districts levying their own rate on top of everything above - 23 Municipal Utility Districts, 3 Municipal Management Districts, 1 Water Control & Improvement Districts, 1 Fresh Water Supply Districts. Adopted 2025 rates run from 0.41 to 1.20 per $100. At the top of that range a district adds more than half again the entire Murphy stack, and none of it is reduced by a homestead exemption.
These follow subdivision boundaries, not city limits, so two houses a mile apart in Murphy can differ by a full point. They are most common in newer master-planned communities, because that is what the bonds paid to build.
A Public Improvement District is not a taxing unit. It is an assessment a city levies on the specific parcels that benefited from the roads, water and amenities its bonds paid for - set per parcel, absent from every rate table and every listing-site tax estimate, and not reduced by a homestead exemption because it is not a tax. It typically runs the life of the bonds, often 20 to 40 years, and can frequently be paid off in a lump sum. In a new-build community that is the difference between the budget you built and the payment you owe, and the option period is when you find out.
HOA dues are a private contract with the neighbourhood association. They are not on the tax bill, not collected by the county, not deductible, and not touched by any exemption - and a community can have an HOA and a MUD and a PID at once, which is the combination that catches people out. Ask for the dues, the transfer fee, the reserve study and any special assessment in writing, and read them alongside the tax bill rather than instead of it.