Best Places85201, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85201, 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.
85201 ranks 9,690th 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 85201
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.
85201's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85201 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 208 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 85201 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85201
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85201 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $70,045; 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 85201's effective rate of 0.36%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85201
85201 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85201.
Who works in 85201, and how
Work in 85201 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 85201
85201 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 85201 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85201, month by month
85201 sees roughly 208 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 55° | 44° |
| April | 88° | 74° | 60° |
| July | 107° | 96° | 84° |
| October | 90° | 77° | 65° |
Flying in and out of 85201
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 9 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 85201
Schools across 85201 average a B+, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Franklin At Brimhall ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Ward Traditional AcademyA− · 60% proficient
- Concordia Charter SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Franklin Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Mckemy Academy Of International StudiesC+ · 37% proficient
- Carson Junior High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Heritage AcademyA− · 62% proficient
- East Valley AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
- Westwood High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85201 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85201 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 85201 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85201 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85201
Is 85201 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85201 ranks 9,690th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and biking, 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 85201 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $313,453. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $70,045 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 85201 safe?
85201 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $559 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85201?
July highs average about 107 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 44. That works out to about 208 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of zip codes.
Is 85201 good for families?
Schools beat 86% of zip codes, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85201 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85201. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85201 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.
85201 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85201: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85201: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85201: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85201: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85201 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.