Best Places85381, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85381, 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.
85381 ranks 3,668th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 85381
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.
85381's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85381 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 85381 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,109 a month, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85381
A household needs to earn about $118,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85381 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,304, 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 85381's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 85381
85381 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 85381.
Who works in 85381, and how
Work in 85381 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 85381
85381 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 85381 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85381, month by month
85381 sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 57° | 43° |
| April | 87° | 77° | 60° |
| July | 108° | 99° | 87° |
| October | 89° | 79° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 85381
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 18 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 85381
Schools across 85381 average a B+, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Peoria Traditional SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Oakwood Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Desert Harbor Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Centennial High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Cactus High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Peoria High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85381 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85381 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 85381 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85381 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 93% of zip codes and health care access beats 61%.
Common questions about living in 85381
Is 85381 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85381 ranks 3,668th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cell coverage, and biking, 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 85381 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $472,151. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $104,304 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 85381 safe?
85381 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85381?
July highs average about 108 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 43. That works out to about 164 pleasant days a year, more than 93% of zip codes.
Is 85381 good for families?
Schools beat 83% of zip codes, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 85381 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85381. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85381 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.
85381 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85381: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85381: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85381: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85381: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85381 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.