Best PlacesSt. David, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around St. David, 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.
St. David ranks 25,552nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in St. David
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.
St. David's strengths and weaknesses
Where St. David ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 168 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 89% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 81% of towns
Where St. David ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in St. David
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. David home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $50,051; 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 St. David'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, 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 St. David
St. David runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for St. David.
Who works in St. David, and how
Work in St. David centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in St. David
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across St. David.
What the weather is like in St. David, month by month
St. David sees roughly 168 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 47° | 33° |
| April | 80° | 64° | 48° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 68° |
| October | 83° | 67° | 53° |
Flying in and out of St. David
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 149 miles away.
The best schools in and around St. David
Schools across St. David average a C+, better than 43% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Pomerene Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- St David Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Benson Primary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benson Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- St David High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Benson High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Valley Union High SchoolF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. David school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. David 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 St. David against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in St. David
Is St. David a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. David ranks 25,552nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, low crime, and cell coverage, and lowest on air quality and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. David expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,057. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $50,051 median income, cost of living beats 8% of towns.
Is St. David safe?
Yes, St. David is safer than 95% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $170 per resident a year.
Compare St. David with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. David. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. David 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.
St. David detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. David: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. David: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. David: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. David: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. David 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.