Best Places85544, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85544, 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.
85544 ranks 29,201st 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 85544
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.
85544's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85544 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 161 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 85544 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute46.5 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85544
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85544 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,704, 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 85544's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 85544
85544 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 85544.
Who works in 85544, and how
Work in 85544 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 39%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 85544
85544 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 85544 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85544, month by month
85544 sees roughly 161 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 45° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 66° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 85544
The nearest airport, Flagstaff Pulliam, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85544
Schools across 85544 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pine Strawberry Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Weitzel's Puente De Hozho Bilingual Magnet SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Camp Verde Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Camp Verde Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Mount Elden Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Camp Verde Accommodation SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Payson High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Summit High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85544 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85544 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 85544 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 85544
Is 85544 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85544 ranks 29,201st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, health care access, and quiet, and lowest on air quality and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85544 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $458,229. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $60,704 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 85544 safe?
85544 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $375 per resident a year.
Compare 85544 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85544. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85544 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.
85544 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85544: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85544: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85544: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85544: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85544 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.