A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Murfreesboro$800/mo

Typical home $131K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.07% · or rent about $1,079/mo · Housing →

Sylva$1,850/mo

Typical home $330K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.44% · or rent about $797/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,050 a month, about $12,600 a year, between Sylva and Murfreesboro.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Sylva places higher on 12 of 19 NC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every North Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

C−MurfreesboroSafer than 17% of U.S. towns D−SylvaSafer than 4% of U.S. towns

Schools

C−MurfreesboroBetter than 19% of districts in the state –SylvaNot graded

Health

CMurfreesboroHealthier than 31% of U.S. towns C+SylvaHealthier than 41% of U.S. towns

7Murfreesboro

12Sylva

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest depressionHealth · 296 towns #63#258 Highest graduation rateSchools · 284 towns #173#14 Lowest property taxCost of living · 297 towns #129#8 SafestSafety · 139 towns #73#120 Cheapest rentCost of living · 284 towns #140#44 Most walkableOutdoors · 297 towns #141#60 Most affordableCost of living · 297 towns #34#79 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #267#223

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Murfreesboro’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

MurfreesboroSylva

Snow a year3″4″

January low29°F 26°F

July high88°F 85°F

Growing season (days)208d 184d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)87th 68th

Outdoors & history

MurfreesboroSylva

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land2.5%2.5%

Settled1787 1889

National Register places11 3

Archive photos6 12

Famous people born here11 —

Community

MurfreesboroSylva

Library hours a week43 hrs 54 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

350 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

MurfreesboroNC SylvaNC

Murfreesboro ↔ Sylva350 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs North Carolina average

MurfreesboroSylva

People

Population 3,170Highest 2,646Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -7.6%Lowest NC: +9.5% -0.4%Highest NC: +9.5%

Median age 25.7±8.5Lowest 34% below NC 31.4±5.9Highest 20% below NC

Sylva and Murfreesboro are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 28.3%±3.8Lowest NC: 21.8% 28.4%±7.7Highest NC: 21.8%

Sylva and Murfreesboro are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 15.9%±2.7Highest NC: 17.2% 14.6%±3.9Lowest NC: 17.2%

Murfreesboro and Sylva are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 32.7%Highest NC: 35.7% 30.7%Lowest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 20.9%±4Highest NC: 6.4% 5.1%±3.7Lowest NC: 6.4%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $39,914±$7kLowest 45% below NC $44,086±$6kHighest 39% below NC

Sylva and Murfreesboro are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $158,600±$10kLowest 45% below NC $201,200±$31kHighest 30% below NC

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,079±$142Highest 12% below NC $797±$197Lowest 35% below NC

Murfreesboro and Sylva are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,691Highest 11% below NC $877Lowest 54% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 66.7%±23Highest NC: 48.9% 33.5%±12.7Lowest NC: 48.9%

Murfreesboro and Sylva are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 39.5%Highest NC: 13% 19.4%Lowest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 54.1%Highest NC: 66.6% 45.3%Lowest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1971Lowest 20 yrs older than NC 1979Highest 12 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 25 minHighest about the NC average 24 minLowest 6% below NC

Work from home 1.7%±1.9Lowest NC: 16.3% 2.9%±2.4Highest NC: 16.3%

Sylva and Murfreesboro are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 15.3%Lowest 17.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miHighest 9.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.07Lowest 4.76Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Ahoskie (9%)Cullowhee (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SylvaFew work in Murfreesboro

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.5% 2.5%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 6Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 52.8Lowest 66.1Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #249 of 252 in NC—

School district Hertford County Schools—

High school in town None in town—

North Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Murfreesboro neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Murfreesboro’s Town Square.

Sylva neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sylva’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Murfreesboro

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Wingate4,425 people · $230K homes

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Belville2,573 people · $283K homes

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Robbins1,893 people · $99K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Murfreesboro vs Sylva

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,050 more a month in Sylva

Sylva places higher on 12 of 19 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

350 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Murfreesboro and Sylva

Towns like Murfreesboro

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