Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Established in 1851, this town now has 3,351 residents.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Its lowest grade is for health (D): residents are less healthy than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also trails on incomes: the median household income is $56K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. Cost of living is where it shines (A−): a typical home costs about $37K, less than a year of the county’s $41K median household income. Walkability is another plus (A−): it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. The overall grade comes out at C−, 99th of 139 in Arizona. Nationally, it does better than just over a fifth of U.S. towns. Fort Defiance’s concentration of trails is 2.4 miles per square mile, above both the Arizona town median (1.1) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · OpenStreetMap.
Where Fort Defiance beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Fort Defiance’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 Fort Defiance is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1851, comes before those of 99% of the Arizona towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 4,061 in 2000, 3,541 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 2 maps from 1955 on.
Fort Defiance is unincorporated, so Apache 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 Fort Defiance.
Fort Defiance draws workers from Gallup and beyond and has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns.
| Fort Defiance | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.4 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 15% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Of its 6 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Window Rock High School, with 548 students. The Window Rock Unified District runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tsehootsooi Primary Learning CenterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 430 | D |
| Window Rock High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 548 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
1,554 jobs are based in Fort Defiance, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.9 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 8 miles. Fort Defiance: 28% of working residents work locally. It had 1,554 jobs in 2023, up 325 from 2013. Its typical journey to work stands at 19 minutes.
| Fort Defiance | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
CDC measures, 32 in all: Fort Defiance beats Arizona on 3 and trails on 22. Only 7 of the 140 Arizona towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Fort Defiance. Among adults locally, 37% worry about having enough food.
| Fort Defiance | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 21% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fort Defiance | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 8.8% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.7% | 15.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.7% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Gallup Muni Ap weather station, 22 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 119 days, shorter than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Fort Defiance’s midsummer high stands at 86°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected losses in Fort Defiance break down as 64% from inland flooding and 13% from lightning.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Defiance. Close and well known come first.
20 mi National MonumentCanyon de Chelly National Monument341K visitors a year
35 mi LandmarkFort Wingate
6 mi MuseumNavajo Nation Museum
27 mi National Historic SiteHubbell Trading Post National Historic Site45K visitors a year
6 mi Zoo & aquariumNavajo Nation Zoological and Botanical ParkCanyon de Chelly National Monument: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Wingate: Elias Olcott Beaman / James Fennemore / John Karl Hillers, Public domain · Navajo Nation Museum: Chris English, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site: Jsweida, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park: Taken by Staff of the Navajo Nation Zoo, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Fort Defiance; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 Fort Defiance residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
4 notable people were born in Fort Defiance.
CDP in Apache County, Arizona
Fort Defiance (Navajo: Tséhootsooí [tsʰéhòːtsʰòː.í]) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is also located within the Navajo Nation. The population was 3,624 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Defiance grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #99 of 139 in Arizona. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 0.9 years of the area's median household income ($41,438 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
Fort Defiance was established in 1851. 4 notable people were born here, including Rachel Feinstein and Ryneldi Becenti.
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