Best Places85006, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85006, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
85006 ranks 23,754th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 85006
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
85006's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85006 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 207 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 85006 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85006
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85006 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,642, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 85006's effective rate of 0.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85006
85006 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85006.
Who works in 85006, and how
Work in 85006 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 85006
85006 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 85006 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85006, month by month
85006 sees roughly 207 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 110 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 44° |
| April | 90° | 76° | 61° |
| July | 110° | 98° | 85° |
| October | 92° | 78° | 65° |
Flying in and out of 85006
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 3 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.2 million passengers in 2025, with 177 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 85006
Schools across 85006 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Augustus H. Shaw MontessoriB · 48% proficient
- Asu Preparatory Academy- Phoenix ElementaryD+ · 23% proficient
- Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Asu Preparatory Academy - Phoenix Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Osborn Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Wilson Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Asu Preparatory Academy- Phoenix High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Franklin Police And Fire High SchoolF · 11% proficient
- Kaizen Education Foundation Dba Summit High SchoolF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85006 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85006 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 85006 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85006 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85006
Is 85006 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85006 ranks 23,754th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, cell coverage, and the weather, and lowest on crime and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85006 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,013. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $61,642 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 85006 safe?
85006 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $957 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85006?
July highs average about 110 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 44. That works out to about 207 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of zip codes.
Is 85006 good for families?
Schools beat 16% of zip codes, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85006 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85006. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85006 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
85006 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85006: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85006: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85006: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85006: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85006 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.