Best PlacesMarana, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marana, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Marana ranks 566th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Marana
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.
Marana's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marana ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 196 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 84% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 78% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 75% of cities
Where Marana ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Marana
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marana home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $112,975, 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 Marana's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 Marana
Marana runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Marana.
Who works in Marana, and how
Work in Marana centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Marana
Marana has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of cities and more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Marana and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Marana, month by month
Marana sees roughly 196 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 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° | 70° | 54° |
| July | 102° | 89° | 77° |
| October | 89° | 74° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Marana
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marana
Schools across Marana average a C, better than 29% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Leman Academy Of ExcellenceA− · 61% proficient
- Richard B Wilson Jr SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Dove Mountain K-8B+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marana Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Flowing Wells Junior High SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Tortolita Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Ironwood Ridge High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Mountain View High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Marana High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marana school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marana 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 Marana against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Marana suits
Families
Schools land around the 29th percentile and crime safety beats 88%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of cities and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 91% of cities, health care access beats 69%, and it is quieter than 66%.
Common questions about living in Marana
Is Marana a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marana ranks 566th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on the weather, low crime, and a strong job market, and lowest on tree cover and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marana expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $411,726. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $112,975 median income, cost of living beats 78% of cities.
Is Marana safe?
Yes, Marana is safer than 88% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Marana?
July highs average about 102 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 41. That works out to about 196 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of cities.
Is Marana good for families?
Schools beat 29% of cities, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $986 a month.
Compare Marana with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marana. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marana 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.
Marana detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marana: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marana: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marana: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marana: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marana 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.