Best Places85203, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85203, 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.
85203 ranks 5,338th 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 85203
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.
85203's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85203 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 208 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 85203 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85203
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85203 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $84,930, 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 85203's effective rate of 0.37%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85203
85203 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 85203.
Who works in 85203, and how
Work in 85203 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 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 85203
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 85203.
What the weather is like in 85203, month by month
85203 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 85203
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 12 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 85203
Schools across 85203 average a B+, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Franklin At Brimhall ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Macarthur Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Gem Charter SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Franklin Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Kino Junior High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Academy With Community PartnersD+ · 25% proficient
- East Valley AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85203 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85203 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 85203 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85203 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85203
Is 85203 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85203 ranks 5,338th 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 85203 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $441,951. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $84,930 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 85203 safe?
85203 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $394 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85203?
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 85203 good for families?
Schools beat 87% of zip codes, crime safety beats 35%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85203 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85203. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85203 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.
85203 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85203: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85203: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85203: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85203: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85203 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.