Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 125,445, Buckeye does unevenly: it grades C+, 61st among Arizona's 139 graded towns. It is healthier than 72% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark is a C in cost of living. Buckeye’s July high is 106°F, against 100°F in Arizona’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Sonoran Desert National Monument, 17,527 acres with 18.8 miles of trail. Buckeye's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns.
Where Buckeye beats most towns.
50,876 counted in 2010 and 91,502 in 2020; an estimated 125,445 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 37.1% since 2020, after 79.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Buckeye is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 684 in 1910, 91,502 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Buckeye, and how to reach them.
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 Buckeye.
Buckeye fares better on crime within Arizona than nationally, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak.
514 miles of trail in 46 parks and preserves. The trail density in Buckeye is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Skyline Regional Park | 34.1 mi | 8,643 |
| 2. Sonoran Desert National Monument | 18.8 mi | 17,527 |
| 3. Robbins Butte Wildlife Area | 8 mi | 1,221 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 41 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckeye Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,150 | C− |
| Canyon View High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,141 | B− |
| Great Hearts Academies - RooseveltTop results in townGrades K–10 | Grades K–10 | 934 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Buckeye has 12,924 jobs for its 44,343 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 33.3 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Most working residents leave Buckeye for work: only 8% work in town. Buckeye’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Buckeye grew to 12,924 in 2023, 5,567 more than in 2013.
| Buckeye | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
17% of Buckeye adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Buckeye beats the Arizona average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 30% of Buckeye adults have high blood pressure.
| Buckeye | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 23% |
| What stands out | Buckeye | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.8% | 14.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.4% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.7% | 13.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Litchfield Park weather station, 17 miles away, records that about 173 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 106.3°, hotter than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 40.2°.
Buckeye has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 27% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 14% of residents (19% statewide). Buckeye has grown 37% since 2020, to 125,445 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Arizona.
| Buckeye | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.7 years | 41.9 years | 40.5 years |
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.3 points). Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.3, men 35.2.
| Buckeye | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.9% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.1% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.8% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.7% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.2% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.8% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 14.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 76% of Arizona’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,139 to 1,093 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 35 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Buckeye.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $391K, is 14% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Buckeye home is worth about $391,000, down 1.9% in a year, 6% below the Arizona typical home. 86% of households own their home in Buckeye.
| Buckeye | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,963 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 86% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Buckeye; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Buckeye residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
35.5% of the town is conserved land, across 46 parks and preserves.
3 places in Buckeye on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Buckeye.
City in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
Buckeye is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's second-largest city by area, and it is the westernmost suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,502, up from 50,876 in 2010, and 6,537 in 2000. It was the fastest-growing city in the United States for 2017, 2018, and 2021.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Buckeye.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Buckeye grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #61 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and C+ for schools.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($88,301 across the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
6 notable people were born here, including Bill Lueck and Byron Birdsall.
