Best Places85029, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85029, 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.
85029 ranks 16,708th 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 85029
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.
85029's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85029 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% 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 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 85029 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
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85029
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85029 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $71,210, 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 85029's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85029
85029 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85029.
Who works in 85029, and how
Work in 85029 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 85029
85029 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 85029 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85029, month by month
85029 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 85029
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 13 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 85029
Schools across 85029 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lookout Mountain SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Sahuaro SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Chaparral Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountain Sky Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Desert Foothills Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Cholla Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Sunnyslope High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Thunderbird High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Moon Valley High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85029 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85029 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 85029 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85029 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85029
Is 85029 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85029 ranks 16,708th 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 85029 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $325,777. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $71,210 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 85029 safe?
85029 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $449 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85029?
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 85029 good for families?
Schools beat 15% of zip codes, crime safety beats 25%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85029 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85029. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85029 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.
85029 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85029: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85029: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85029: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85029: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85029 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.