Best PlacesDeer Valley, Phoenix, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Deer Valley, Phoenix, 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.
Deer Valley, Phoenix ranks 1,932nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on low property taxes and low disaster risk. The weaker spots are tree cover, air quality, and summer heat.
The best neighborhoods in Deer Valley, Phoenix
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.
Deer Valley, Phoenix's strengths and weaknesses
Deer Valley, Phoenix lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low property taxes, low disaster risk, and the weather carry most of that.
The one real hole is tree cover, near the bottom of the country. Air quality and summer heat also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Deer Valley, Phoenix ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 196 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
Where Deer Valley, Phoenix ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Deer Valley, Phoenix
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Deer Valley, Phoenix home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $99,231, 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 Deer Valley, Phoenix's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 Deer Valley, Phoenix
Deer Valley, Phoenix'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 Deer Valley, Phoenix.
Who works in Deer Valley, Phoenix, and how
Work in Deer Valley, Phoenix 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 74%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Deer Valley, Phoenix
Deer Valley, Phoenix has more parkland per resident than 73% of neighborhoods and less late-night activity than most neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Deer Valley, Phoenix and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Deer Valley, Phoenix, month by month
Deer Valley, Phoenix sees roughly 196 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 72° | 55° |
| July | 107° | 95° | 81° |
| October | 89° | 75° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Deer Valley, Phoenix
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 17 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.2 million passengers in 2025, with 177 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Deer Valley, Phoenix
Schools across Deer Valley, Phoenix average a C+, better than 47% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Fireside Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Horseshoe Trails Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Desert Trails Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
Top middle schools
- Explorer Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Hillcrest Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Sonoran Trails Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain Ridge High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Pinnacle High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Jefferson Preparatory High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Deer Valley, Phoenix school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Deer Valley, Phoenix 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 Deer Valley, Phoenix against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Deer Valley, Phoenix suits
Families
Schools land around the 47th percentile and crime safety beats 79%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of neighborhoods and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 87% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 60%.
Common questions about living in Deer Valley, Phoenix
Is Deer Valley, Phoenix a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Deer Valley, Phoenix ranks 1,932nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, low disaster risk, and the weather, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Deer Valley, Phoenix expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $450,292. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $99,231 median income, cost of living beats 73% of neighborhoods.
Is Deer Valley, Phoenix safe?
Yes, Deer Valley, Phoenix is safer than 79% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Deer Valley, Phoenix?
July highs average about 107 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 41. That works out to about 196 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of neighborhoods.
Is Deer Valley, Phoenix good for families?
Schools beat 47% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Is Deer Valley, Phoenix good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of neighborhoods, though advertised internet speeds beat only 22% of neighborhoods. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare Deer Valley, Phoenix with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Deer Valley, Phoenix. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Deer Valley, Phoenix 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.
Deer Valley, Phoenix detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Deer Valley, Phoenix: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Deer Valley, Phoenix: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Deer Valley, Phoenix: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Deer Valley, Phoenix: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Deer Valley, Phoenix 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.