Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,277.
Avra Valley gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $158K, 2.3 years of the Tucson metro’s $70K median household income. It grades C− overall, 93rd among Arizona's 139 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and the median household income is $54K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Avra Valley’s July high is 104°F, above both the Arizona town median (100°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Ironwood Forest National Monument, 3,277 acres with 2.1 miles of trail.
Where Avra Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Avra Valley is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 1%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,403 in 1990, 5,569 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2011 and 3 maps from 1959 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Avra Valley. Close and well known come first.
10 mi National ParkSaguaro National Park848K visitors a year
26 mi Stadium & arenaArizona Stadium
32 mi MountainMount Lemmon
34 mi MuseumPima Air & Space Museum
15 mi State parkPicacho Peak State Park
16 mi Zoo & aquariumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumSaguaro National Park: Luke Jones from Yucca Valley, CC BY 2.0 · Arizona Stadium: Wcarlisle4, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Lemmon: Debby Kriegel, Public domain · Pima Air & Space Museum: The original uploader was MCB at English Wikipedia. Later versions were uploade, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Picacho Peak State Park: Tony the Marine (talk), Public domain · Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
Avra Valley is unincorporated, so Pima County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Avra Valley.
Avra Valley trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Arizona (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Arizona towns, with expected losses of about $801 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Only 2 of the 140 Arizona towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Avra Valley. Since 1983, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Avra Valley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Marana Unified District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roadrunner Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 372 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Avra Valley. Avra Valley beats the Arizona average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 42% of adults have high blood pressure in Avra Valley.
| Avra Valley | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 21% | 19% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 20% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Avra Valley | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.2% | 15.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.5% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Avra Valley has 144 jobs for its 2,036 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 33.6 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Most working residents leave Avra Valley for work: only 2% work in town. Avra Valley’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. Jobs based in Avra Valley grew to 144 in 2023, 84 more than in 2013.
| Avra Valley | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Avra Valley is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ironwood Forest National Monument | 2.1 mi | 3,277 |
| 2. Los Robles Wash | — | 73 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Tucson 17 Nw weather station, 14 miles away, records that about 161 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 103.5°, hotter than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.9°.
Avra Valley has mild winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles. At 2.3 years of the Tucson metro’s $70K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 89% of Arizona towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Avra Valley; the nearest are
About 9 of every 100 Avra Valley residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
CDP in Pima County, Arizona
Avra Valley (O'odham: Ko:jĭ Pi Bak) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 6,050 at the 2010 census, up from 5,038 in 2000.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Avra Valley.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avra Valley | #93 | C− | A+ | — | B+ | D |
| Picture Rocks | #90 | C | B+ | — | B+ | C+ |
Avra Valley and Picture Rocks report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Avra Valley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Avra Valley grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #93 of 139 in Arizona. It grades D for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $158,000, 62% below the Arizona typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.
