Best PlacesPhoenix, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Phoenix, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Phoenix ranks 25,306th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 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.
Phoenix's strengths and weaknesses
Where Phoenix ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- Short commute16.3 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
Where Phoenix ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 14% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,112 a month, better than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Phoenix
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Phoenix home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $67,098, 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 Phoenix's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Phoenix
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 Phoenix.
Who works in Phoenix, and how
Work in Phoenix centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Phoenix
Phoenix has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Phoenix and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Phoenix, month by month
Phoenix sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 70° | 54° | 40° |
| July | 96° | 77° | 59° |
| October | 73° | 56° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Phoenix
The nearest airport, Rogue Valley International/Medford, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 229 miles away.
The best schools in and around Phoenix
Schools across Phoenix average a D+, better than 18% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Talent Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Orchard Hill Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Phoenix Elementary SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Talent Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Phoenix High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Armadillo Technical InstituteD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Phoenix school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Phoenix against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Phoenix
Is Phoenix a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Phoenix ranks 25,306th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, and lowest on summer heat and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Phoenix expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $344,770. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $67,098 median income, cost of living beats 27% of towns.
Is Phoenix safe?
Phoenix is safer than 22% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $695 per resident a year.
Compare Phoenix with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Phoenix. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Phoenix detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Phoenix: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Phoenix: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Phoenix: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Phoenix: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.