Best Places86301, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 86301, 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.
86301 ranks 9,551st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 86301
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.
86301's strengths and weaknesses
Where 86301 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 159 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 86301 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 86301
A household needs to earn about $122,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 86301 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,881, 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 86301's effective rate of 0.34%, 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 86301
86301 runs older 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 86301.
Who works in 86301, and how
Work in 86301 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 86301
86301 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 86301 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 86301, month by month
86301 sees roughly 159 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 38° | 24° |
| April | 72° | 56° | 38° |
| July | 93° | 78° | 63° |
| October | 76° | 58° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 86301
The nearest airport, Prescott Regional/Ernest A Love Field, is about 5 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 86301
Schools across 86301 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Taylor Hicks SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Granite Mountain Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Granville Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prescott Mile High Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Heritage Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Glassford Hill Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Tri-city College PrepB · 50% proficient
- Prescott High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Bradshaw Mountain High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 86301 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
86301 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 86301 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 86301 suits
Families
Schools land around the 36th percentile and crime safety beats 88%.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of zip codes and health care access beats 71%.
Common questions about living in 86301
Is 86301 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 86301 ranks 9,551st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, the weather, and short commutes, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 86301 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $499,704. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $77,881 median income, cost of living beats 30% of zip codes.
Is 86301 safe?
Yes, 86301 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $221 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 86301?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 24. That works out to about 159 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of zip codes.
Is 86301 good for families?
Schools beat 36% of zip codes, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $924 a month.
Compare 86301 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 86301. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 86301 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.
86301 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 86301: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 86301: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 86301: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 86301: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
86301 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.