Best Places85023, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85023, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
85023 ranks 11,095th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 85023
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.
85023's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85023 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 196 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 85023 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85023
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85023 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $88,341, 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 85023's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85023
85023's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85023.
Who works in 85023, and how
Work in 85023 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 85023
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 85023.
What the weather is like in 85023, month by month
85023 sees roughly 196 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 72° | 55° |
| July | 107° | 95° | 81° |
| October | 89° | 75° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 85023
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 15 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 85023
Schools across 85023 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lookout Mountain SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Reid Traditional Schools' Painted Rock AcademyB+ · 55% proficient
- Hearn Academy The - A Ball Charter SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountain Sky Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Deer Valley Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Desert Foothills Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Thunderbird High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Greenway High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Barry Goldwater High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85023 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85023 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 85023 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85023 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85023
Is 85023 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85023 ranks 11,095th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, low disaster risk, and the weather, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85023 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $415,740. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $88,341 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 85023 safe?
85023 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $398 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85023?
July highs average about 107 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 41. That works out to about 196 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 85023 good for families?
Schools beat 26% of zip codes, crime safety beats 33%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85023 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85023. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85023 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.
85023 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85023: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85023: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85023: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85023: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85023 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.