Best PlacesArizona Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Arizona, 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.
Arizona ranks 27th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on the weather and cell coverage. The weaker spots are air quality, summer heat, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Arizona
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 Arizona
The counties of Arizona, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Pinal County
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more households have young kids.
Maricopa County
Biking is better and big-city amenities are closer.
Coconino County
Heat risk is lower and more adults hold degrees.
Pima County
Homes cost less and prices have run up less.
Mohave County & Yavapai County
It is quieter, though more homes sit empty.
Yuma County
Schools score lower and disaster risk is higher.
Navajo County, Apache County & Gila County
Advertised internet is slower and crime runs higher.
Arizona shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Arizona's strengths and weaknesses
Arizona lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. The weather is the standout, in the top 3% of states. Cell coverage and low property taxes follow.
The one real hole is air quality, near the bottom of the country. Summer heat and tree cover also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Arizona ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 185 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of states
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of states
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of states
- BikingBetter than 91% of states
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of states
Where Arizona ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of states
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of states
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Arizona
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Arizona home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $89,971, 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 Arizona's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 Arizona
Arizona's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Arizona.
Who works in Arizona, and how
Work in Arizona 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 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Arizona
Arizona has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and less parkland per resident than most states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Arizona and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Arizona, month by month
Arizona sees roughly 185 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 110 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 44° |
| April | 90° | 76° | 61° |
| July | 110° | 98° | 85° |
| October | 92° | 78° | 65° |
The best schools in and around Arizona
Schools across Arizona average a C, better than 35% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Knox Gifted AcademyA+ · 94% proficient
- Weinberg Gifted AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
- Basis Scottsdale Primary - East CampusA+ · 90% proficient
Top middle schools
- Arizona College Prep Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Franklin Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Cocopah Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- University High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Arizona College Prep High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Basis Oro ValleyA+ · 87% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Arizona school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Arizona 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 Arizona against the other 49 states.
Who Arizona suits
Common questions about living in Arizona
Is Arizona a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Arizona ranks 27th of 50 states. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and low property taxes, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Arizona expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $422,057. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $89,971 median income, cost of living beats 38% of states.
Is Arizona safe?
Arizona is safer than 43% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Arizona?
July highs average about 110 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 44. That works out to about 185 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of states.
What are the best areas in Arizona?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Pinal County, Maricopa County, and Coconino County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Arizona good for families?
Schools beat 35% of states, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $1,033 a month.
Is Arizona good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 38% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 32% of states. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Arizona with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Arizona. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Arizona 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.
Arizona detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Arizona: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Arizona: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Arizona: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Arizona: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Arizona 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.
- 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.