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%

Sylva$1,850/mo

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

Murfreesboro$800/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

12Sylva

7Murfreesboro

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

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

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

SylvaMurfreesboro

Snow a year4″3″

January low26°F 29°F

July high85°F 88°F

Growing season (days)184d 208d

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

Outdoors & history

SylvaMurfreesboro

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land2.5%2.5%

Settled1889 1787

National Register places3 11

Archive photos12 6

Famous people born here—11

Community

SylvaMurfreesboro

Library hours a week54 hrs 43 hrs

Colleges in town—1

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.

SylvaNC MurfreesboroNC

Sylva ↔ Murfreesboro350 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

SylvaMurfreesboro

People

Population 2,646Lowest 3,170Highest

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

Median age 31.4±5.9Highest 20% below NC 25.7±8.5Lowest 34% 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 28.4%±7.7Highest NC: 21.8% 28.3%±3.8Lowest 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+ 14.6%±3.9Lowest NC: 17.2% 15.9%±2.7Highest 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+ 30.7%Lowest NC: 35.7% 32.7%Highest NC: 35.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $44,086±$6kHighest 39% below NC $39,914±$7kLowest 45% 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 $201,200±$31kHighest 30% below NC $158,600±$10kLowest 45% below NC

Rentmedian gross, monthly $797±$197Lowest 35% below NC $1,079±$142Highest 12% 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 $877Lowest 54% below NC $1,691Highest 11% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 33.5%±12.7Lowest NC: 48.9% 66.7%±23Highest 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 19.4%Lowest NC: 13% 39.5%Highest NC: 13%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 2.9%±2.4Highest NC: 16.3% 1.7%±1.9Lowest 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 17.5%Highest 15.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.3 miLowest 19.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MurfreesboroFew work in Sylva

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.5% 2.5%

Trailsmapped miles 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 6Highest 1Lowest

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

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.

Sylva neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sylva’s Town Square.

Murfreesboro neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Murfreesboro’s Town Square.

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Bordering Sylva

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Dillsboro195 people · $270K homes

Towns like Sylva

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Bryson City1,902 people · $243K homes

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Murphy1,604 people · $250K homes

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Dobson1,652 people · $174K homes

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Whiteville4,696 people · $188K 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.

Sylva vs Murfreesboro

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 Sylva and Murfreesboro

Bordering Sylva

Towns like Sylva

Post to Sylva

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