As part of the humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), a small number of cold hardy palm trees are able to grow in Murphysboro which can live year-round, and may be found sparingly around the municipality.

The town's creation is tied to the disastrous fire which destroyed the courthouse in the first county seat, Brownsville.

General Logan is also remembered for a distinguished political career, serving as Illinois' US senator from 1871 to 1877 and 1880–1886, as well as for running for vice president in 1884.

Another F4 affected the area on December 18, 1957, causing intense damage to the southeast portion of the town.

The city was heavily affected by the May 2009 Southern Midwest derecho, which destroyed houses, brought down power lines, and left the town without electricity for a week.

[7] In 2017, the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 had its point of longest duration (2 minutes, 41.7 seconds) near Murphysboro, at a point about 8 kilometers to the southeast (89.4030 degrees west longitude, 37.69335 degrees north latitude) in Giant City State Park.

About 17.8% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.In recent years, business and tourism organizations have been at the front of renewing interest in the town as a center of historical and cultural tourism.

Murphysboro's General John A. Logan Museum, the Murphysboro Tourism Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, and Friends of Murphysboro have been working together to restore interest in the maintenance of architectural treasures such as the band shell in Riverside Park, an example of the type of large-scale project of the Works Progress Administration; the Robert W. Hamilton House, a nearly intact example of 19th-century Carpenter Gothic architecture; and the Liberty Theater, once a $1-movie house now converted into a center for regional film festivals, nostalgia nights, and concerts.

The Sheyley House is the headquarters of the Murphysboro Tourism Commission and host to an exhibit detailing the town's history.

It houses a seamstress shop that produces replica clothing for local schools and the General John A. Logan Museum.

The Jackson County Mass Transit District provides deviated fixed-route bus service between Murphysboro and Carbondale.