Best PlacesStar Valley, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Star Valley, 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.
Star Valley ranks 13,557th 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 Star Valley
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.
Star Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Star Valley ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 191 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 92% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 87% of towns
Where Star Valley ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Star Valley
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Star Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $82,654, 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 Star Valley's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 Star Valley
Star Valley 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 Star Valley.
Who works in Star Valley, and how
Work in Star Valley centers on hospitality & food and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Star Valley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Star Valley.
What the weather is like in Star Valley, month by month
Star Valley sees roughly 191 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 45° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 66° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Star Valley
The nearest airport, Flagstaff Pulliam, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around Star Valley
Schools across Star Valley average a C−, better than 23% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Weitzel's Puente De Hozho Bilingual Magnet SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Young Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rim Country Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Mount Elden Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Payson High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Summit High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Star Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Star Valley 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 Star Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Star Valley
Is Star Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Star Valley ranks 13,557th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, short commutes, and cell coverage, and lowest on air quality and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Star Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $395,250. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $82,654 median income, cost of living beats 60% of towns.
Is Star Valley safe?
Yes, Star Valley is safer than 84% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $221 per resident a year.
Compare Star Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Star Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Star Valley 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.
Star Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Star Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Star Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Star Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Star Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Star Valley 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.