Best Places85254, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85254, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
85254 ranks 2,072nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 85254
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.
85254's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85254 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 197 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 85254 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85254
A household needs to earn about $204,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85254 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $132,460, 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 85254's effective rate of 0.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85254
85254 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85254.
Who works in 85254, and how
Work in 85254 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 85254
85254 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 85254 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85254, month by month
85254 sees roughly 197 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, November, and December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 54° | 41° |
| April | 87° | 73° | 58° |
| July | 108° | 96° | 83° |
| October | 90° | 76° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 85254
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 13 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 85254
Schools across 85254 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sequoya Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Desert Trails Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Sonoran Sky Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cocopah Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Explorer Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Desert Shadows Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Pinnacle High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Horizon High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Chaparral High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85254 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85254 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 85254 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85254 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 97% of zip codes and health care access beats 89%.
Common questions about living in 85254
Is 85254 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85254 ranks 2,072nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, 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 85254 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $821,020. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $132,460 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 85254 safe?
85254 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $339 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85254?
July highs average about 108 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 41. That works out to about 197 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 85254 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85254 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85254. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85254 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.
85254 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85254: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85254: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85254: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85254: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85254 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.