Best PlacesSoutheast Mesa, Mesa, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southeast Mesa, Mesa, 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.
Southeast Mesa, Mesa ranks 1,651st 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 property taxes and low disaster risk. The weaker spots are summer heat, air quality, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Southeast Mesa, Mesa
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.
Southeast Mesa, Mesa's strengths and weaknesses
Southeast Mesa, Mesa lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low property taxes, low disaster risk, and good schools 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 Southeast Mesa, Mesa ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB+, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 196 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Southeast Mesa, Mesa ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southeast Mesa, Mesa
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southeast Mesa, Mesa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $93,114; 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 Southeast Mesa, Mesa'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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southeast Mesa, Mesa
Southeast Mesa, Mesa runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Southeast Mesa, Mesa.
Who works in Southeast Mesa, Mesa, and how
Work in Southeast Mesa, Mesa centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Southeast Mesa, Mesa
Southeast Mesa, Mesa has more parkland per resident than 77% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Southeast Mesa, Mesa and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Southeast Mesa, Mesa, month by month
Southeast Mesa, Mesa sees roughly 196 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 106 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 71° | 56° |
| July | 106° | 94° | 82° |
| October | 89° | 74° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Southeast Mesa, Mesa
The nearest airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 21 miles away.
The best schools in and around Southeast Mesa, Mesa
Schools across Southeast Mesa, Mesa average a B+, better than 89% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Franklin At Brimhall ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Neely Traditional AcademyA+ · 82% proficient
- Canyon Rim ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Franklin Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Sossaman Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Asu Preparatory Academy-polytechnic Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Gilbert Classical Academy 7-12A+ · 81% proficient
- Asu Preparatory Academy-polytechnic High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Higley High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southeast Mesa, Mesa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southeast Mesa, Mesa 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 Southeast Mesa, Mesa against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Southeast Mesa, Mesa suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 20% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 87% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 74%.
Common questions about living in Southeast Mesa, Mesa
Is Southeast Mesa, Mesa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southeast Mesa, Mesa ranks 1,651st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, low disaster risk, and good schools, 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 Southeast Mesa, Mesa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $398,591. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $93,114 median income, cost of living beats 68% of neighborhoods.
Is Southeast Mesa, Mesa safe?
Yes, Southeast Mesa, Mesa is safer than 87% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $282 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Southeast Mesa, Mesa?
July highs average about 106 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 41. That works out to about 196 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of neighborhoods.
Is Southeast Mesa, Mesa good for families?
Schools beat 89% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Is Southeast Mesa, Mesa good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 68% of neighborhoods, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 71% of neighborhoods. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Southeast Mesa, Mesa with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southeast Mesa, Mesa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southeast Mesa, Mesa 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.
Southeast Mesa, Mesa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southeast Mesa, Mesa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southeast Mesa, Mesa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southeast Mesa, Mesa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southeast Mesa, Mesa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southeast Mesa, Mesa 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.