Best PlacesAmerican Fork, UT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around American Fork, 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.
American Fork ranks 435th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in American Fork
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.
American Fork's strengths and weaknesses
Where American Fork ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 88% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of cities
Where American Fork ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 18% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 28% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 38% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in American Fork
A household needs to earn about $132,000 a year to comfortably buy the median American Fork home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $110,951, 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 American Fork's effective rate of 0.42%, 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 American Fork
American Fork 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 American Fork.
Who works in American Fork, and how
Work in American Fork centers on retail trade and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in American Fork
American Fork has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of cities and more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of American Fork and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in American Fork, month by month
American Fork sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 37° |
| July | 95° | 79° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 51° | 37° |
Flying in and out of American Fork
The nearest airport, Provo Municipal, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 30 miles away.
The best schools in and around American Fork
Schools across American Fork average a B, better than 59% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Cedar Ridge SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Shelley SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Alpine SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountain Ridge Jr HighA− · 57% proficient
- Lehi Jr HighA− · 55% proficient
- Timberline MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Lone Peak HighB · 47% proficient
- American Fork HighB− · 40% proficient
- Lehi HighC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every American Fork school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
American Fork 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 American Fork against the other 2,097 cities.
Who American Fork suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 75% of cities and 18% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in American Fork
Is American Fork a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, American Fork ranks 435th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on population health, heat safety, and low property taxes, 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 American Fork expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $533,766. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $110,951 median income, cost of living beats 75% of cities.
Is American Fork safe?
Yes, American Fork is safer than 88% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in American Fork?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 21. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 46% of cities.
Is American Fork good for families?
Schools beat 59% of cities, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $929 a month.
Compare American Fork with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to American Fork. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in American Fork 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.
American Fork detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for American Fork: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in American Fork: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of American Fork: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in American Fork: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
American Fork 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.