Best PlacesApache County, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Apache County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Apache County ranks 3,071st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Apache County
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.
The best areas in Apache County
The parts of Apache County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
St. Johns
More households have young kids, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Eagar
Health care is easier to reach, though prices have run up more.
Concho
More adults hold degrees, though homes cost more.
Fort Defiance, Window Rock & St. Michaels
Fewer homes sit empty and the air is cleaner.
Chinle & Many Farms
Crime runs higher and advertised internet is slower.
Scores across Apache County run from about the 1st to the 63rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Apache County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Apache County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 157 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of counties
Where Apache County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Apache County
A household needs to earn about $22,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Apache County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,719, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Apache County's effective rate of 0.11%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Apache County
Apache County 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 Apache County.
Who works in Apache County, and how
Work in Apache County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Apache County
Apache County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Apache County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Apache County growing, and who is moving in?
Apache County has lost about 10% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Navajo County, AZ.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Apache County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Apache County, month by month
Apache County sees roughly 157 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 29° | 12° |
| April | 68° | 49° | 28° |
| July | 91° | 73° | 53° |
| October | 71° | 50° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Apache County
The nearest airport, Show Low Regional, is about 94 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Apache County
Schools across Apache County average a D+, better than 14% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Coronado Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Alpine Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Round Valley Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- St Johns Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Round Valley Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Tse Bit Ai MiddleD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Snowflake High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- St Johns High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Round Valley High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Apache County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Apache County 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 Apache County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Apache County suits
Common questions about living in Apache County
Is Apache County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Apache County ranks 3,071st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, clean air, and the weather, and lowest on internet speeds and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Apache County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $91,855. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $46,719 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is Apache County safe?
Apache County is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $893 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Apache County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 12. That works out to about 157 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Apache County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are St. Johns, Eagar, and Concho. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Apache County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Apache County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Apache County 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.
Apache County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Apache County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Apache County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Apache County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Apache County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Apache County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.