Best PlacesPima County, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pima County, 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.
Pima County ranks 861st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on the weather and biking. The weaker spots are summer heat, air quality, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Pima 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 Pima County
The parts of Pima 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.
Catalina Foothills & Tanque Verde
More adults hold degrees, schools score higher, and health care is easier to reach.
Summit, Vail & Corona de Tucson
More households have young kids and crime runs lower.
Marana & Casas Adobes
Local pay stretches further and incomes run higher.
Oro Valley & Flowing Wells
Heat risk is higher and more homes sit empty.
Tucson
Biking is better and transit reaches more jobs.
Tucson Estates
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Sahuarita & Green Valley
Homes cost less.
South Tucson
Fewer residents vote and prices have run up more.
Drexel Heights & Valencia West
Disaster risk is higher and commutes are longer.
Pima 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.
Pima County's strengths and weaknesses
Pima County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. The weather is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Biking and transit follow.
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 Pima County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 178 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of counties
- BikingBetter than 98% of counties
- TransitBetter than 96% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 84% of counties
Where Pima County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of counties
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 18% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pima County
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pima County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $79,360; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Pima County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 Pima County
Pima 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 Pima County.
Who works in Pima County, and how
Work in Pima 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 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Pima County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Pima County.
Is Pima County growing, and who is moving in?
Pima County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Phoenix, AZ.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pima County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pima County, month by month
Pima County sees roughly 178 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 Pima County
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pima County
Schools across Pima County average a C−, better than 32% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Basis Oro Valley PrimaryA+ · 79% proficient
- Ocotillo Ridge ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Senita Valley Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orange Grove Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Esperero Canyon Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Lawrence W Cross Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- University High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Basis Oro ValleyA+ · 87% proficient
- Basis Tucson NorthA · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pima County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pima 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 Pima County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pima County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Pima County
Is Pima County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pima County ranks 861st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and transit, 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 Pima County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $330,130. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $79,360 median income, cost of living beats 65% of counties.
Is Pima County safe?
Pima County is safer than 38% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $426 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pima County?
July highs average about 103 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 38. That works out to about 178 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Pima County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Catalina Foothills & Tanque Verde, Summit, Vail & Corona de Tucson, and Marana & Casas Adobes. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Pima County good for families?
Schools beat 32% of counties, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $989 a month.
Is Pima County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 65% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 72% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare Pima County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pima County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pima 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.
Pima County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pima County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pima County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pima County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pima County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pima 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.