Best Places85043, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85043, 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.
85043 ranks 16,213th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 85043
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.
85043's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85043 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 195 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 85043 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85043
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85043 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,526, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 85043's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 85043
85043 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85043.
Who works in 85043, and how
Work in 85043 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 85043
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 85043.
What the weather is like in 85043, month by month
85043 sees roughly 195 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 57° | 43° |
| April | 87° | 77° | 60° |
| July | 108° | 99° | 87° |
| October | 89° | 79° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 85043
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 11 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 85043
Schools across 85043 average a D+, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sun Canyon SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Trailside Point Performing Arts AcademyD · 19% proficient
- Dos Rios ElementaryD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maricopa Institute Of Technology (mit)D+ · 26% proficient
- Marc T. Atkinson Middle School & Gifted AcademyD− · 15% proficient
- Kings Ridge SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- University High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Maricopa Institute Of TechnologyC+ · 40% proficient
- Precision AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85043 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85043 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 85043 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85043 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85043
Is 85043 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85043 ranks 16,213th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and few empty homes, and lowest on thin health care access and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85043 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $335,183. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $85,526 median income, cost of living beats 56% of zip codes.
Is 85043 safe?
85043 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $419 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85043?
July highs average about 108 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 43. That works out to about 195 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 85043 good for families?
Schools beat 20% of zip codes, crime safety beats 33%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85043 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85043. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85043 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.
85043 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85043: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85043: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85043: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85043: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85043 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.