Best Places85653, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85653, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
85653 ranks 9,180th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 85653
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.
85653's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85653 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 202 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 85653 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Short commute30.2 minutes each way, better than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85653
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85653 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,379, 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 85653's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 85653
85653 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 85653.
Who works in 85653, and how
Work in 85653 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 85653
85653 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 85653 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85653, month by month
85653 sees roughly 202 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 70° | 54° |
| July | 102° | 89° | 77° |
| October | 89° | 74° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 85653
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85653
Schools across 85653 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gladden Farms ElementaryB · 49% proficient
- Twin Peaks Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Red Rock Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marana Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain View High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85653 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85653 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 85653 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 85653
Is 85653 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85653 ranks 9,180th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and few empty homes, and lowest on tree cover and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85653 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $300,495. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $88,379 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 85653 safe?
Yes, 85653 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
Compare 85653 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85653. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85653 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.
85653 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85653: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85653: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85653: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85653: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85653 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.