Best PlacesSunnyside, Tucson, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sunnyside, Tucson, 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.
Sunnyside, Tucson ranks 5,350th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sunnyside, 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.
Sunnyside, Tucson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sunnyside, Tucson ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 177 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.1 minutes each way, better than 79% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Sunnyside, Tucson ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- School gradeF, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Sunnyside, Tucson
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sunnyside, Tucson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,512, 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 Sunnyside, Tucson's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sunnyside, Tucson
Sunnyside, 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 Sunnyside, Tucson.
Who works in Sunnyside, Tucson, and how
Work in Sunnyside, Tucson centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Sunnyside, Tucson
Sunnyside, Tucson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sunnyside, Tucson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Sunnyside, Tucson, month by month
Sunnyside, 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 Sunnyside, Tucson
The nearest airport, Tucson International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sunnyside, Tucson
Schools across Sunnyside, Tucson average an F, better than 4% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Elvira Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Van Buskirk Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Liberty Elementary SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Challenger Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Sierra 2-8 SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Apollo Middle SchoolF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Pueblo High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Toltecali High SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Sunnyside High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sunnyside, Tucson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sunnyside, 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 Sunnyside, Tucson against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Sunnyside, Tucson
Is Sunnyside, Tucson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sunnyside, Tucson ranks 5,350th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on tree cover and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sunnyside, Tucson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,566. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $50,512 median income, cost of living beats 14% of neighborhoods.
Is Sunnyside, Tucson safe?
Sunnyside, Tucson is safer than 41% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $557 per resident a year.
Compare Sunnyside, Tucson with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sunnyside, Tucson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sunnyside, 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.
Sunnyside, Tucson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sunnyside, Tucson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sunnyside, Tucson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sunnyside, Tucson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sunnyside, Tucson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sunnyside, 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.