Best Places85626, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85626, 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.
85626 ranks 32,404th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on the weather.
The best neighborhoods in 85626
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.
85626's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85626 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 152 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 85626 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Short commute43.1 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85626
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85626 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,630, 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 85626'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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85626
85626 runs younger than the country, 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 85626.
Who works in 85626, and how
Work in 85626 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 85626
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 85626.
What the weather is like in 85626, month by month
85626 sees roughly 152 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 44° | 26° |
| April | 82° | 63° | 41° |
| July | 97° | 81° | 66° |
| October | 85° | 66° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 85626
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 96 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 202 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85626
Schools across 85626 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Faras Elementary SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ray Borane Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Douglas High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85626 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85626 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 85626 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 85626
Is 85626 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85626 ranks 32,404th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low disaster risk, and a stable housing market, and lowest on a weak job market and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85626 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $93,746. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $49,630 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 85626 safe?
85626 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $470 per resident a year.
Compare 85626 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85626. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85626 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.
85626 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85626: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85626: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85626: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85626: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85626 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.