Best Places85119, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85119, 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.
85119 ranks 17,631st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 85119
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.
85119's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85119 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 188 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 85119 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85119
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85119 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,879; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 85119's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 85119
85119 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85119.
Who works in 85119, and how
Work in 85119 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 85%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 85119
85119 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 85119 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85119, month by month
85119 sees roughly 188 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 106 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 71° | 56° |
| July | 106° | 94° | 82° |
| October | 89° | 74° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 85119
The nearest airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 28 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85119
Schools across 85119 average a D, better than 5% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Peralta Trail Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
- Desert Vista Elementary SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Avalon ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smith Junior High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Cactus Canyon Junior HighD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Apache Junction High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85119 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85119 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 85119 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85119 suits
Families
Schools land around the 5th percentile and crime safety beats 84%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 96% of zip codes and health care access beats 66%.
Common questions about living in 85119
Is 85119 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85119 ranks 17,631st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and a strong job market, and lowest on summer heat and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85119 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $320,678. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $75,879 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 85119 safe?
Yes, 85119 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85119?
July highs average about 106 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 41. That works out to about 188 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 85119 good for families?
Schools beat 5% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $856 a month.
Compare 85119 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85119. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85119 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.
85119 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85119: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85119: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85119: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85119: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85119 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.