Best Places86403, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 86403, 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.
86403 ranks 18,711th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 86403
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.
86403's strengths and weaknesses
Where 86403 ranks high
- Short commute14.2 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 192 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 86403 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 86403
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 86403 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,463, 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 86403's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 86403
86403 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 86403.
Who works in 86403, and how
Work in 86403 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 86403
86403 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 86403 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 86403, month by month
86403 sees roughly 192 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 113 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 55° | 43° |
| April | 91° | 76° | 60° |
| July | 113° | 101° | 86° |
| October | 91° | 77° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 86403
The nearest airport, Boulder City Municipal, is about 105 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Harry Reid International, about 120 miles away.
The best schools in and around 86403
Schools across 86403 average a C+, better than 39% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jamaica Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Starline Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Nautilus Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thunderbolt Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Havasu High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Telesis Preparatory AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 86403 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
86403 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 86403 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 86403
Is 86403 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 86403 ranks 18,711th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, the weather, and cell coverage, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 86403 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $373,269. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $63,463 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 86403 safe?
86403 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
Compare 86403 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 86403. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 86403 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.
86403 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 86403: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 86403: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 86403: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 86403: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
86403 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.