Best PlacesCentral, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Central ranks 5,561st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Central
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.
Central's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 160 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of towns
- Household income$114,956 median, better than 92% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of towns
Where Central ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 21% of towns
- Short commute30.9 minutes each way, better than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Central
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $114,956, 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 Central's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Central
Central 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 Central.
Who works in Central, and how
Work in Central centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Central
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Central.
What the weather is like in Central, month by month
Central sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 104 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 46° | 31° |
| April | 85° | 67° | 47° |
| July | 104° | 88° | 73° |
| October | 86° | 68° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Central
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 84 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around Central
Schools across Central average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Thatcher Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Ruth Powell Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Pima Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thatcher Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Safford Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Pima Junior High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Thatcher High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Safford High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central 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 Central against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Central
Is Central a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central ranks 5,561st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and population health, 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 Central expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $362,767. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $114,956 median income, cost of living beats 91% of towns.
Is Central safe?
Yes, Central is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
Compare Central with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central 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.
Central detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central 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.