Best PlacesTonto Basin, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Tonto Basin, 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.
Tonto Basin ranks 45,396th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Tonto Basin
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.
Tonto Basin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Tonto Basin ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 195 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 94% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 87% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 77% of towns
Where Tonto Basin ranks low
- Short commute54.6 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Tonto Basin
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tonto Basin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $52,148, 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 Tonto Basin's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Tonto Basin
Tonto Basin 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 Tonto Basin.
Who works in Tonto Basin, and how
Work in Tonto Basin centers on admin & support services and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Tonto Basin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Tonto Basin.
What the weather is like in Tonto Basin, month by month
Tonto Basin sees roughly 195 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 Tonto Basin
The nearest airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tonto Basin
Schools across Tonto Basin average a B−, better than 57% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Franklin At Brimhall ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Tonto Basin ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Young Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Franklin Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Rim Country Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Cactus Shadows High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Payson High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- East Valley AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tonto Basin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tonto Basin 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 Tonto Basin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Tonto Basin
Is Tonto Basin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tonto Basin ranks 45,396th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and cell coverage, and lowest on long commutes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tonto Basin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $276,110. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $52,148 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Tonto Basin safe?
Tonto Basin is safer than 21% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $445 per resident a year.
Compare Tonto Basin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tonto Basin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tonto Basin 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.
Tonto Basin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tonto Basin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tonto Basin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tonto Basin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tonto Basin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tonto Basin 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.