Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,600, settled in 1958.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Carefree grades A− overall, ranked 6th of 139 in Arizona. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 91% of the country. Its schools outperform 84% of the state's. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $1.3 million for a typical one and 14.4 times the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income. 61% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Carefree, above both Arizona’s towns (24%) and U.S. towns (29%). On walkability, just 14 of Arizona’s 204 towns do better. Carefree has 2 places on the National Register.
Where Carefree beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Carefree | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3.7% | 12% |
Where Carefree’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 Carefree is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 964 in 1980, 3,690 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 3 maps from 1965 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carefree, 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 Carefree.
Carefree is a second-home town, draws workers from Phoenix and beyond and has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 14.4 years of the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income, the typical home (about $1.27M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Arizona towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Values rose 2.5% in the past year while the Arizona typical home fell 1%.
The median rent in Carefree is $1,538 a month. Typical home values rose 2.5% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2,342 jobs are based in Carefree, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 36.1 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Carefree’s median household income is $147,000. Jobs based in Carefree grew to 2,342 in 2023, 545 more than in 2013. Carefree’s average trip to work is 36 minutes.
| Carefree | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $147,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 36 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 2,949 U.S. towns with household incomes like Carefree’s, it is healthier than 62%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
9.4% of adults report frequent mental distress in Carefree. Only 10 of the 140 Arizona towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Carefree. 11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Carefree.
| Carefree | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 35% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.5% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Carefree | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3.7% | 12% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.3% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 17.8% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Carefree weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 313 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Carefree weather station records that about 153 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Carefree has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 102°, January nights drop to 42° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carefree.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Black Mountain Summit Preserve, at 168 acres.
| Carefree | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 15% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Black Mountain Summit Preserve | 0.4 mi | 168 |
| 2. Carefree Desert Gardens | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 3. Carefree Galloway Wash Preserve | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Carefree. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaState Farm Stadium
28 mi Stadium & arenaMortgage Matchup Center
28 mi Stadium & arenaChase Field
28 mi Stadium & arenaDesert Diamond Arena
27 mi Stadium & arenaMountain America Stadium
22 mi MountainCamelback MountainState Farm Stadium: Taken by en:Flickr user MCSixth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mortgage Matchup Center: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chase Field: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Bolken, Public domain · Desert Diamond Arena: Unknown, CC BY 2.0 · Mountain America Stadium: Clintus McGintus, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Camelback Mountain: Dru Bloomfield from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Carefree
About 7 of every 100 Carefree residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
Town in Maricopa County, Arizona
Carefree is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located north of both Phoenix and Scottsdale in the far northeast area of the Phoenix metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 3,690.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Carefree.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carefree | #6 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Scottsdale | #24 | B | D | C | B+ | A+ |
| Cave Creek | #13 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
Carefree and Cave Creek report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Carefree with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Carefree grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #6 of 139 in Arizona. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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