Best Places85138, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85138, 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.
85138 ranks 8,717th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 85138
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.
85138's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85138 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 180 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 85138 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85138
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85138 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $97,208, 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 85138's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 85138
85138 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 85138.
Who works in 85138, and how
Work in 85138 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 85138
85138 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 85138 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85138, month by month
85138 sees roughly 180 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 52° | 38° |
| April | 88° | 72° | 52° |
| July | 107° | 94° | 80° |
| October | 90° | 74° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 85138
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 26 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 85138
Schools across 85138 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pima Butte Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Butterfield Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Santa Rosa Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Villago Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Desert Wind Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Maricopa Wells Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Heritage Academy MaricopaB · 46% proficient
- Casa Grande Union High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- A+ Charter SchoolsD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85138 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85138 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 85138 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85138 suits
Families
Schools land around the 13th percentile and crime safety beats 78%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85138
Is 85138 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85138 ranks 8,717th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, a strong job market, and the weather, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85138 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $376,446. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $97,208 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 85138 safe?
Yes, 85138 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $240 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85138?
July highs average about 107 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 38. That works out to about 180 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 85138 good for families?
Schools beat 13% of zip codes, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $856 a month.
Compare 85138 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85138. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85138 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.
85138 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85138: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85138: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85138: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85138: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85138 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.