Best Places85705, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 85705, 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.
85705 ranks 27,553rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 85705
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.
85705's strengths and weaknesses
Where 85705 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 181 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 85705 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$39,664 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 85705
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 85705 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $39,664, 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 85705'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 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 85705
85705 runs younger 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 85705.
Who works in 85705, and how
Work in 85705 centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 85705
85705 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 85705 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 85705, month by month
85705 sees roughly 181 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 103 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 51° | 38° |
| April | 86° | 69° | 51° |
| July | 103° | 88° | 76° |
| October | 89° | 73° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 85705
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around 85705
Schools across 85705 average a D, better than 9% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Robert Richardson Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Carden Of TucsonC · 35% proficient
- Centennial Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Paulo Freire Freedom School - UniversityC− · 30% proficient
- Ida Flood Dodge Traditional Middle Magnet SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Flowing Wells Junior High SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- University High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Tucson Preparatory SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Envision High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 85705 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
85705 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 85705 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 85705 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 85705
Is 85705 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 85705 ranks 27,553rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and the weather, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 85705 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,766. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $39,664 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 85705 safe?
85705 is safer than 6% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $761 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 85705?
July highs average about 103 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 38. That works out to about 181 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 85705 good for families?
Schools beat 9% of zip codes, crime safety beats 6%, and childcare runs $989 a month.
Compare 85705 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 85705. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 85705 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.
85705 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 85705: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 85705: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 85705: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 85705: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
85705 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.