Murrieta is a mostly rural area and spread out over 100 hundred square miles of sage brush, pinion pines, oaks, low hills, creeks and valleys that make up the San Jacinto Fault Zone and includes the small communities of Murrieta Hot Springs, Wildomar and Menifee. 20 years ago these small communities did not exist. The only roads going through the area was old 395 and state highway 74. It wasn't till the coming of the freeways (215 and the 15) that did these small communities began to develope and allow fast egress to and from Orange and L.A Counties.

It is expected these small communities will grow rapidly as the I.E. urban sprawl spreads east and south.

Population (year 2000): 44,282

Elevation: 1093 feet

County: Riverside

Land area: 28.4 square miles

Zip codes: 92562, 92563.

Median resident age: 34.4 years