Best PlacesCochise County, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cochise County, 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.
Cochise County ranks 1,545th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on the weather and biking. The weaker spots are air quality, summer heat, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Cochise 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 Cochise County
The parts of Cochise 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.
Sierra Vista Southeast
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and fewer homes sit empty.
Sierra Vista
More households have young kids and biking is better.
Bisbee
It is quieter and health care is easier to reach.
Benson & Pomerene
Prices have run up more and commutes are longer.
Willcox
Fewer residents vote and fewer adults hold degrees.
Douglas
Homes cost less, though crime runs higher.
Cochise County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Cochise County's strengths and weaknesses
Cochise County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. The weather, biking, and cell coverage carry most of that.
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 Cochise County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 166 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 85% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of counties
- TransitBetter than 83% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 73% of counties
Where Cochise County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 22% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cochise County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cochise County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,430, 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 Cochise County's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Cochise County
Cochise County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cochise County.
Who works in Cochise County, and how
Work in Cochise County centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Cochise County
Cochise County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Cochise County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cochise County growing, and who is moving in?
Cochise County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Phoenix, AZ.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cochise County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cochise County, month by month
Cochise County sees roughly 166 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 47° | 33° |
| April | 80° | 64° | 48° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 68° |
| October | 83° | 67° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Cochise County
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 170 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cochise County
Schools across Cochise County average a C−, better than 22% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- General Myer Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Tanque Verde Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Double Adobe Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Colonel Smith Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Emily Gray Junior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Benson Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Tanque Verde High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- St David High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Benson High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cochise County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cochise 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 Cochise County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cochise County suits
Families
Schools land around the 22nd percentile and crime safety beats 57%.
Common questions about living in Cochise County
Is Cochise County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cochise County ranks 1,545th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and cell coverage, 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 Cochise County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $219,235. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $63,430 median income, cost of living beats 28% of counties.
Is Cochise County safe?
Yes, Cochise County is safer than 57% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $380 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cochise County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 33. That works out to about 166 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Cochise County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Sierra Vista Southeast, Sierra Vista, and Bisbee. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Cochise County good for families?
Schools beat 22% of counties, crime safety beats 57%, and childcare runs $843 a month.
Is Cochise County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 28% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 48% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Cochise County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cochise County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cochise 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.
Cochise County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cochise County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cochise County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cochise County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cochise County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cochise 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.