Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Gila Bend’s subject grades are an A− for cost of living and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for health. Gila Bend’s July high is 108°F, where Arizona’s towns sit at 100°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Only 1 of Arizona’s 207 towns score higher on hazard risk. The median household income is $52K, and 12% of residents live below the poverty line. 34% of the land in Gila Bend is conserved, above both Arizona’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Sonoran Desert National Monument, at 6,698 acres with 13.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Gila Bend's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. Gila Bend has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Gila Bend beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Gila Bend’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 Gila Bend is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 199 in 1910, 1,892 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gila Bend, 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 Gila Bend.
About one in 5 of Gila Bend’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Gila Bend has added 420 jobs, to 971 in 2023. Gila Bend’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
| Gila Bend | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Gila Bend Unified District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gila Bend ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 309 | D |
| Gila Bend High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 172 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Gila Bend beats the Arizona average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 26. 36% of Gila Bend adults say their health is fair or poor. Among 141 Arizona towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Gila Bend.
| Gila Bend | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 21% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Gila Bend | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.3% | 8.8% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.2% | 15.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 38.6% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The FEMA risk score in Gila Bend is 5 of 100. Since 1980, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gila Bend.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Gila Bend home is worth about $212,000, up 2.1% in a year, 49% below the Arizona typical home. 63% of households own their home in Gila Bend.
| Gila Bend | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,069 a month | $1,200 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
54 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sonoran Desert National Monument | 13.5 mi | 6,698 |
| 2. Gatlin Archeological Site | 0.3 mi | 17 |
| 3. North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness | — | 995 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Gila Bend has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Gila Bend; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Gila Bend residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
Town in Maricopa County, Arizona
Gila Bend (; O'odham: Hila Wi:n), founded in 1872, is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The town is named for an approximately 90-degree bend in the Gila River, which is near the community's current location. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,892. Ancestors of 13 modern day tribes of Native Americans lived and farmed in this area, leaving behind the largest concentration of petroglyphs, (images on rocks) in America.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. That is 2.4 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 A−.