Best PlacesThe Islands, Gilbert, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around The Islands, Gilbert, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
The Islands, Gilbert ranks 661st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in The Islands, Gilbert
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.
The Islands, Gilbert's strengths and weaknesses
Where The Islands, Gilbert ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB+, better than 88% of neighborhoods
Where The Islands, Gilbert ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in The Islands, Gilbert
A household needs to earn about $138,000 a year to comfortably buy the median The Islands, Gilbert home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $128,738; 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 The Islands, Gilbert's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 The Islands, Gilbert
The Islands, Gilbert 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 The Islands, Gilbert.
Who works in The Islands, Gilbert, and how
Work in The Islands, Gilbert centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in The Islands, Gilbert
The Islands, Gilbert has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of The Islands, Gilbert and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in The Islands, Gilbert, month by month
The Islands, Gilbert sees roughly 200 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 56° | 42° |
| April | 87° | 76° | 58° |
| July | 107° | 98° | 84° |
| October | 89° | 79° | 62° |
Flying in and out of The Islands, Gilbert
The nearest airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 13 miles away.
The best schools in and around The Islands, Gilbert
Schools across The Islands, Gilbert average a B+, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Knox Gifted AcademyA+ · 94% proficient
- Settlers Point ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Islands Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Arizona College Prep Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- South Valley Jr. HighA− · 54% proficient
- Mesquite Jr High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Arizona College Prep High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Gilbert Classical Academy 7-12A+ · 81% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every The Islands, Gilbert school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
The Islands, Gilbert 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 The Islands, Gilbert against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in The Islands, Gilbert
Is The Islands, Gilbert a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, The Islands, Gilbert ranks 661st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, few empty homes, and low disaster risk, 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 The Islands, Gilbert expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $556,009. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $128,738 median income, cost of living beats 90% of neighborhoods.
Is The Islands, Gilbert safe?
Yes, The Islands, Gilbert is safer than 76% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
Compare The Islands, Gilbert with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to The Islands, Gilbert. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in The Islands, Gilbert 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.
The Islands, Gilbert detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for The Islands, Gilbert: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in The Islands, Gilbert: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of The Islands, Gilbert: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in The Islands, Gilbert: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
The Islands, Gilbert 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.