Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 260,572, Glendale does unevenly: it grades C, 79th among Arizona's 139 graded towns. It is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: its police reported 1,139 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. Glendale’s midsummer high is 106°F, above both Arizona’s towns (100°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Its National Register listings include Sahuaro Ranch and Beet Sugar Factory. Glendale's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns.
Where Glendale beats most towns.
Beet Sugar Factory| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Glendale Community College | 10,488 |
| Midwestern University-Glendale | 3,780 |
| Arizona Christian University | 1,062 |
Census counts: 1,000 in 1910, 248,325 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
23 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Glendale is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glendale. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaState Farm Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaDesert Diamond Arena
9 mi Stadium & arenaMortgage Matchup Center
9 mi Stadium & arenaChase Field
17 mi Stadium & arenaMountain America Stadium
8 mi MuseumArizona State CapitolState 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 · Arizona State Capitol: Unknown, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Glendale, 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 Glendale.
Glendale has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, has home values still below their peak and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
Reported crimes fell from 8,759 to 7,191 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Glendale’s level of property crime is 23.2 per 1,000 residents. Its level of violent crime is 4.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Glendale | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.2 per 1,000 residents | 11 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Three of the 87 schools are below, and why each made the list. The 6 public schools in Glendale teach 6,091 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy Traditional School ? GlendaleLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,280 | A |
| Mountain Ridge High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 2,823 | A− |
| Sierra Verde STEAM AcademyTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 932 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Trails run 51 miles in 85 parks and preserves. Thunderbird Conservation Park, at 998 acres with 12.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The concentration of trails in Glendale is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Glendale | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 15% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Thunderbird Conservation Park | 12.7 mi | 998 |
| 2. Sahuaro Ranch Park | 2.5 mi | 76 |
| 3. Glendale Heroes Regional Park | 0.8 mi | 91 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 41.6°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 106°.
For Glendale, the January low is 42°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Phoenix (51%), Scottsdale (6%) and Tempe (5%). Commuting out is the norm in Glendale: just over a tenth of working residents work locally. Employers in Glendale added 16,697 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 80,528. For Glendale, the average trip to work is 28 minutes.
| Glendale | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, Glendale has seen 51 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected losses in Glendale break down as 51% from inland flooding and 46% from heat waves. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Glendale after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2014.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Glendale, 25% of residents are under 18. People 65 and older are 13% of residents (19% statewide). Also worth knowing: the midpoint age for Glendale comes to 34.6 years. The town is growing: up 4.9% since 2020, to 260,572 residents (2025 estimate).
| Glendale | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 34.6 years | 41.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 21% | 22% |
50.9% women, 49.1% men
About 97 men for every 100 women. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.1, men 33.4.
| Glendale | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.8% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.9% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.8% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.5% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.9% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.6% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.6% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The share of adults in Glendale who sleep under 7 hours: 37%. Against the Arizona average, Glendale comes out ahead on 3 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 12. In Glendale, nearly a quarter of adults worry about having enough food, and 31% have high blood pressure.
| Glendale | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 75% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Glendale | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.1% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.7% | 6.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.5% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $400K, is 11% below its July 2022 peak.
On the market in Glendale: a median 59 days to sell. 58% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in the town. Add to that, in Glendale, the rent at the middle of the market is $1,528 a month.
| Glendale | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 76% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 58% | 46% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,528 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
18 within 15 miles of the center of Glendale
About 6 of every 100 Glendale residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
3 colleges in town.
23 places in Glendale on the National Register of Historic Places.
27 notable people were born in Glendale.
City in Arizona, United States
Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Bordering the state capital, as a suburb of Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city also contains the Arrowhead Towne Center shopping mall. As of the 2020 census, Glendale had a population of 248,325.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Glendale.
All 7 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; El Mirage (C+) is closest.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glendale | #79 | C | C | D | B+ | B |
| Peoria | #25 | B | C− | C+ | A− | A |
| Phoenix | #65 | C+ | C | D | B+ | B+ |
| El Mirage | #70 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B+ | B |
| Litchfield Park | #8 | A− | C− | B− | B+ | A+ |
| Goodyear | #38 | B− | C− | C+ | B | A |
| Citrus Park | #32 | B | D | — | B+ | A |
| Surprise | #18 | B+ | C | B | B+ | A− |
Citrus Park reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Glendale with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Glendale grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #79 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B for health, D for safety and B+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($88,301 across the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area).
27 notable people were born here, including Brady Ellison and Marty Robbins.
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