Best PlacesEl Gheko, Tucson, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around El Gheko, Tucson, 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.
El Gheko, Tucson ranks 2,272nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in El Gheko, Tucson
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.
El Gheko, Tucson's strengths and weaknesses
Where El Gheko, Tucson ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 173 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of neighborhoods
Where El Gheko, Tucson ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 33% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in El Gheko, Tucson
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median El Gheko, Tucson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,164, 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 El Gheko, Tucson's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in El Gheko, Tucson
El Gheko, Tucson runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for El Gheko, Tucson.
Who works in El Gheko, Tucson, and how
Work in El Gheko, Tucson centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in El Gheko, Tucson
El Gheko, Tucson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of El Gheko, Tucson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in El Gheko, Tucson, month by month
El Gheko, Tucson sees roughly 173 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 103 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 51° | 38° |
| April | 86° | 69° | 51° |
| July | 103° | 88° | 76° |
| October | 89° | 73° | 58° |
Flying in and out of El Gheko, Tucson
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around El Gheko, Tucson
Schools across El Gheko, Tucson average a C, better than 43% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- W Arthur Sewel Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Miles-exploratory Learning CenterD− · 13% proficient
- Hudlow Elementary SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ida Flood Dodge Traditional Middle Magnet SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- University High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Rincon High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every El Gheko, Tucson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
El Gheko, Tucson 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 El Gheko, Tucson against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in El Gheko, Tucson
Is El Gheko, Tucson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, El Gheko, Tucson ranks 2,272nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low property taxes, and quiet, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is El Gheko, Tucson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $311,766. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $80,164 median income, cost of living beats 67% of neighborhoods.
Is El Gheko, Tucson safe?
El Gheko, Tucson is safer than 41% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $536 per resident a year.
Compare El Gheko, Tucson with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to El Gheko, Tucson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in El Gheko, Tucson 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.
El Gheko, Tucson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for El Gheko, Tucson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in El Gheko, Tucson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of El Gheko, Tucson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in El Gheko, Tucson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
El Gheko, Tucson 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.