Best Places85621, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85621, 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.
85621 ranks 31,126th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Education levels pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on short commutes.
The best neighborhoods in 85621
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.
85621's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85621 ranks high
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 85621 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Household income$45,726 median, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85621
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85621 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $45,726; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 85621's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85621
85621 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 85621.
Who works in 85621, and how
Work in 85621 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 85621
85621 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 85621 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85621, month by month
85621 sees roughly 150 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 48° | 31° |
| April | 84° | 64° | 44° |
| July | 97° | 81° | 67° |
| October | 87° | 68° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 85621
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85621
Schools across 85621 average a D, better than 4% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mexicayotl Charter SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Little Red SchoolhouseC · 33% proficient
- Francisco Vasquez De Coronado Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Coatimundi Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Desert Shadows Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Wade Carpenter Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Patagonia Union High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Pinnacle Charter High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Edoptions Preparatory AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85621 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85621 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 85621 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85621 suits
Common questions about living in 85621
Is 85621 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85621 ranks 31,126th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, the weather, and walkability, and lowest on education levels and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85621 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $193,417. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $45,726 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 85621 safe?
85621 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $709 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85621?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 31. That works out to about 150 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of zip codes.
Is 85621 good for families?
Schools beat 4% of zip codes, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $843 a month.
Compare 85621 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85621. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85621 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.
85621 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85621: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85621: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85621: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85621: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85621 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.