Best PlacesSanta Cruz Southwest, Tucson, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson, 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.
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson ranks 4,712th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Tree cover pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a strong job market.
The best neighborhoods in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
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.
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 177 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 72% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 71% of neighborhoods
Where Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,579, 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 Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson.
Who works in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson, and how
Work in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson has more parkland per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson, month by month
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson sees roughly 177 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 104 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 52° | 38° |
| April | 88° | 71° | 53° |
| July | 104° | 89° | 77° |
| October | 91° | 74° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 6 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 Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
Schools across Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson average a D, better than 12% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Tolson Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Vesey Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
- Henry Hank OyamaD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ida Flood Dodge Traditional Middle Magnet SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Valencia Middle SchoolF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Pueblo High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Cholla High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson 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 Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson
Is Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson ranks 4,712th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and quiet, 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 Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,609. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $58,579 median income, cost of living beats 25% of neighborhoods.
Is Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson safe?
Yes, Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson is safer than 64% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $409 per resident a year.
Compare Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson 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.
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Santa Cruz Southwest, Tucson 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.