Best PlacesMaricopa County, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Maricopa County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Maricopa County ranks 308th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $99,918, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are air quality, summer heat, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Maricopa 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 Maricopa County
The parts of Maricopa 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.
Mesa, Gilbert & Chandler
Schools score higher, more adults hold degrees, and local pay stretches further.
Scottsdale
Health care is easier to reach, though fewer households have young kids.
Peoria, Surprise & Sun City
Crime runs lower and more residents vote.
Anthem, Cave Creek & New River
Scores close to Peoria, Surprise & Sun City, except that transit reaches more jobs here.
Tempe & Laveen
Biking is better.
Perryville & Gila Bend
Fewer homes sit empty, though streets are more car-dependent.
Glendale, Avondale & Goodyear
Incomes run lower.
Phoenix
Scores close to Glendale, Avondale & Goodyear, except that heat risk is higher here.
Maricopa County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Maricopa County's strengths and weaknesses
Maricopa County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Cell coverage is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. The weather and biking follow.
The one real hole is air quality, near the bottom of the country. Summer heat and tree cover also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Maricopa County ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 189 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 98% of counties
- TransitBetter than 96% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of counties
Where Maricopa County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 9% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,109 a month, better than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Maricopa County
A household needs to earn about $121,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Maricopa County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $99,918, 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 Maricopa County'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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Maricopa County
Maricopa County'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 Maricopa County.
Who works in Maricopa County, and how
Work in Maricopa County 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 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Maricopa County
Maricopa County has more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Maricopa County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Maricopa County growing, and who is moving in?
Maricopa County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Los Angeles, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Maricopa County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Maricopa County, month by month
Maricopa County sees roughly 189 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 110 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 44° |
| April | 90° | 76° | 61° |
| July | 110° | 98° | 85° |
| October | 92° | 78° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Maricopa County
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 4 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 Maricopa County
Schools across Maricopa County average a C+, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Knox Gifted AcademyA+ · 94% proficient
- Weinberg Gifted AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
- Basis Scottsdale Primary - East CampusA+ · 90% proficient
Top middle schools
- Arizona College Prep Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Franklin Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Cocopah Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Arizona College Prep High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Basis ChandlerA+ · 86% proficient
- Basis PhoenixA+ · 86% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Maricopa County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Maricopa 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 Maricopa County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Maricopa County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Maricopa County
Is Maricopa County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Maricopa County ranks 308th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and biking, 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 Maricopa County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $486,036. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $99,918 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Maricopa County safe?
Maricopa County is safer than 45% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Maricopa County?
July highs average about 110 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 44. That works out to about 189 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Maricopa County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mesa, Gilbert & Chandler, Scottsdale, and Peoria, Surprise & Sun City. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Maricopa County good for families?
Schools beat 62% of counties, crime safety beats 45%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Is Maricopa County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 74% of counties. About 21% of workers already work from home.
Compare Maricopa County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Maricopa County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Maricopa 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.
Maricopa County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Maricopa County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Maricopa County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Maricopa County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Maricopa County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Maricopa 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.