El MirageAZ
A town of 35,820, settled in 1947. Public schools that outperform most of Arizona.
Is El Mirage a good place to live?
El Mirage is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 70th among Arizona's 139 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 74% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its crime rate is higher than 65% of U.S. towns, with 93 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. A typical home there costs about $338K, 3.8 years of the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income. El Mirage’s July high is 106°F, against 100°F in Arizona’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. El Mirage's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Tal’-Wi-Wi Ranch is on the National Register of Historic Places.
What makes El Mirage stand out
Where El Mirage beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Riverview School | PK–8 | 801 |
| Surprise Elementary School | PK–8 | 782 |
| Thompson Ranch Elementary | PK–8 | 759 |
El Mirage has grown 13% since 2010
31,797 counted in 2010 and 35,805 in 2020; an estimated 35,820 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 12.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How El Mirage grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far El Mirage is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
State Farm Stadium and 53 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around El Mirage. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaState Farm Stadium
6 mi Stadium & arenaDesert Diamond Arena
18 mi Stadium & arenaMortgage Matchup Center
18 mi Stadium & arenaChase Field
25 mi Stadium & arenaMountain America Stadium
26 mi Stadium & arenaMullett ArenaPhoto credits
State Farm Stadium: Taken by en:Flickr user MCSixth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Desert Diamond Arena: Unknown, CC BY 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 · Mountain America Stadium: Clintus McGintus, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mullett Arena: Kyvuh, CC0
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Moving to El Mirage: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in El Mirage, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in El Mirage.
El Mirage 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.
Very high risk in El Mirage, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 85% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in El Mirage since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For schools, El Mirage earns a B+
Its public schools are run by the Dysart Unified District. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Dysart High School, with 1,471 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverview SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 801 | C+ |
| Dysart High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 1,471 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
About two in five of El Mirage’s working residents commute to Phoenix
El Mirage has 2,452 jobs for its 16,217 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave El Mirage for work: only 1% work in town. El Mirage’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Since 2013, El Mirage has added 561 jobs, to 2,452 in 2023.
| El Mirage | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.3% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 12% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
El Mirage has set aside 4.5% of its land for conservation
7.0 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Lower El Mirage Wash Basin, at 22 acres. The trail density in El Mirage is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| El Mirage | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 15% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gateway Park | 0.5 mi | 15 |
| 2. Moreno Park | 0.5 mi | 7 |
| 3. Lower El Mirage Wash Basin | 0.4 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Mild winters and hot summers in El Mirage
The Youngtown weather station records that about 175 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 41.9°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 105.8°.
El Mirage has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For safety, El Mirage earns a C+
At 25.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 50% of Arizona’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 614 to 489 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
El Mirage reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 65% report less.
| El Mirage | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.8 per 1,000 residents | 11.1 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
For cost of living, El Mirage earns a C+
The typical value, about $338K, is 14% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical El Mirage home is worth about $338,000, down 1.6% in a year, 19% below the Arizona typical home.
| El Mirage | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,806 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 76% | 73% |
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Residents of El Mirage are healthier than 57% of U.S. towns
El Mirage beats the Arizona average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 70% of adults had a checkup this year in El Mirage.
| El Mirage | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 75% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 12% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | El Mirage | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.7% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 19.8% | 13.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about El Mirage
Colleges nearby
10 within 15 miles of the center of El Mirage
About 5 of every 100 El Mirage residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
99% of working residents leave El Mirage for work
Where El Mirage’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About El Mirage
City in Maricopa County, Arizona
El Mirage is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 35,805, up from 31,797 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1951
- Area
- 9.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,145 ft
- ZIP code
- 85335
- Area code
- 623
El Mirage’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with El Mirage.
Questions about El Mirage
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is El Mirage, AZ a good place to live?
El Mirage grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #70 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is El Mirage, AZ expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.