Best PlacesParadise Valley, Phoenix, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Paradise 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.
Paradise Valley, Phoenix ranks 1,584th 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 disaster risk and low property taxes. The weaker spots are summer heat, air quality, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Paradise 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.
Paradise Valley, Phoenix's strengths and weaknesses
Paradise Valley, Phoenix lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low disaster risk, low property taxes, and the weather carry most of that.
The one real hole is summer heat, near the bottom of the country. Air quality and tree cover also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Paradise Valley, Phoenix ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 197 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Paradise Valley, Phoenix ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
A household needs to earn about $136,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Paradise Valley, Phoenix home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $108,301, 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 Paradise Valley, Phoenix's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Paradise Valley, Phoenix 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 Paradise Valley, Phoenix.
Who works in Paradise Valley, Phoenix, and how
Work in Paradise 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 70%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Paradise Valley, Phoenix has more parkland per resident than 71% of neighborhoods and less late-night activity than most neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Paradise Valley, Phoenix and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Paradise Valley, Phoenix, month by month
Paradise Valley, Phoenix sees roughly 197 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, November, and December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 54° | 41° |
| April | 87° | 73° | 58° |
| July | 108° | 96° | 83° |
| October | 90° | 76° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 13 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 Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Schools across Paradise Valley, Phoenix average a C, better than 43% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Basis Phoenix PrimaryA+ · 79% proficient
- Desert Trails Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Boulder Creek Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cocopah Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Explorer Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Desert Shadows Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Basis PhoenixA+ · 86% proficient
- Great Hearts Academies - North Phoenix PrepA− · 66% proficient
- Pinnacle High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Paradise Valley, Phoenix school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Paradise 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 Paradise Valley, Phoenix against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Paradise Valley, Phoenix suits
Families
Schools land around the 43rd percentile and crime safety beats 73%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of neighborhoods and 25% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 87% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 73%.
Common questions about living in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Is Paradise Valley, Phoenix a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Paradise Valley, Phoenix ranks 1,584th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low property taxes, and the weather, and lowest on summer heat and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Paradise Valley, Phoenix expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $547,301. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $108,301 median income, cost of living beats 76% of neighborhoods.
Is Paradise Valley, Phoenix safe?
Yes, Paradise Valley, Phoenix is safer than 73% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $350 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Paradise Valley, Phoenix?
July highs average about 108 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 41. That works out to about 197 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of neighborhoods.
Is Paradise Valley, Phoenix good for families?
Schools beat 43% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Is Paradise Valley, Phoenix good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of neighborhoods, though advertised internet speeds beat only 19% of neighborhoods. About 25% of workers already work from home.
Compare Paradise Valley, Phoenix with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Paradise Valley, Phoenix. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Paradise 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.
Paradise Valley, Phoenix detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Paradise Valley, Phoenix: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Paradise Valley, Phoenix: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Paradise Valley, Phoenix: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Paradise Valley, Phoenix: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Paradise 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.