Best Places86001, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 86001, 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.
86001 ranks 16,319th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 86001
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.
86001's strengths and weaknesses
Where 86001 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute15.7 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 86001 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 86001
A household needs to earn about $159,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 86001 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,671, 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 86001's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 86001
86001 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 86001.
Who works in 86001, and how
Work in 86001 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 86001
86001 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 86001 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 86001, month by month
86001 sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 30° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 46° | 27° |
| July | 85° | 68° | 52° |
| October | 67° | 49° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 86001
The nearest airport, Flagstaff Pulliam, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around 86001
Schools across 86001 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Haven Montessori Charter SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Charles W Sechrist Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Montessori Charter School Of Flagstaff - CampusB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mount Elden Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Sinagua Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Flagstaff Arts And Leadership AcademyC− · 28% proficient
- Summit High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Flagstaff High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 86001 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
86001 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 86001 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 86001 suits
Common questions about living in 86001
Is 86001 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 86001 ranks 16,319th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and population health, and lowest on an overheated housing market and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 86001 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $644,486. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $74,671 median income, cost of living beats 26% of zip codes.
Is 86001 safe?
86001 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $555 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 86001?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 16. That works out to about 134 pleasant days a year, more than 83% of zip codes.
Is 86001 good for families?
Schools beat 16% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $924 a month.
Compare 86001 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 86001. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 86001 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.
86001 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 86001: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 86001: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 86001: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 86001: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
86001 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.