Dr. Murdock studied sociology at North Dakota State University before going on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in the subject from the University of Kentucky in 1975. He taught at North Dakota State before joining the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1977.

The first official state demographer of Texas, Dr. Murdock headed the Texas State Data Center and Texas Population Estimates and Projections Program for more than 25 years taking a leadership role in the state's coordination activities in the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses.

He joined the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2004. In 2007, he took a position at Rice University, specializing in applied demography, migration, rural sociology, and socioeconomic impact assessment.

Dr. Murdock studied and wrote about the distribution of populations of Texas, writing dozens of books and nearly 50 academic journal articles about U.S. and Texas changing population characteristics such as race, education, and income. He received a Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award from Texas A&M University, the Excellence in Research Award from the Rural Sociological Society and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky.

President George W. Bush nominated Steve H. Murdock for director of the U.S. Census Bureau on June 18, 2007, and the Senate confirmed him unanimously in December of that year. He officially became director of the Census Bureau on January 4, 2008 and vacated the position January 9, 2009.

When he accepted the job, Dr. Murdock knew that it would only be for one year until a new President took over and made his own appointee – a terrific example of someone who puts public service above personal gain or personal needs. He is credited with being the steady hand that kept the 2010 Census on course between Director Kincannon resigning and knowing that his replacement would scarcely have one year in the role of director before the start of the 2010 Census.