Best Places85539, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85539, 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.
85539 ranks 26,603rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 85539
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.
85539's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85539 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 189 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute19.3 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 75% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 85539 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85539
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85539 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,694, 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 85539'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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85539
85539 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 85539.
Who works in 85539, and how
Work in 85539 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 85539
85539 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 85539 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85539, month by month
85539 sees roughly 189 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 106 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 71° | 56° |
| July | 106° | 94° | 82° |
| October | 89° | 74° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 85539
The nearest airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85539
Schools across 85539 average a D, better than 5% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Copper Rim Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Lee Kornegay Intermediate SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- John F Kennedy SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- High Desert Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Globe High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Superior Junior/senior High SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Miami Junior Senior High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85539 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85539 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 85539 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 85539
Is 85539 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85539 ranks 26,603rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, a stable housing market, and short commutes, 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 85539 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $143,937. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $55,694 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 85539 safe?
85539 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $592 per resident a year.
Compare 85539 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85539. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85539 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.
85539 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85539: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85539: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85539: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85539: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85539 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.