Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gold Canyon’s grades pull in different directions. Where it falls short is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $478K, 5.4 years of the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income. Overall, Gold Canyon earns a C+: better than 41% of U.S. towns, and 62nd of 139 in Arizona. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 59% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Incomes are its strong suit (A−): the median household earns $93K. The town has 3 places on the National Register. Its July high is 104°F, above both the Arizona town median (100°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Gold Canyon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Gold Canyon beats most towns.
Census counts: 6,029 in 2000, 11,404 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
Explore the history →Where Gold Canyon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Ordered by what stands out in Gold Canyon.
Gold Canyon is a second-home town, has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Arizona.
Its 11,997 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 96% of Arizona towns.
Gold Canyon’s concentration of trails is 3.6 miles per square mile. Trails total 103 miles in 2 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves locally: 2, covering 18 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Superstition Wilderness | — | 17 |
| 2. Dinosaur Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its one school is below. The Apache Junction Unified District runs its public schools. Gold Canyon’s only public school teaches 282 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peralta Trail Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 282 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
18.3% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 5.2% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
For Gold Canyon, the median age is 66.6 years. Only 6 of the 140 Arizona towns we compare have a higher share of residents 65 or older than Gold Canyon. 6.3% of residents are under 18 locally.
| Gold Canyon | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 54% | 22% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 6.3% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 66.6 years | 41.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 24% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 66.0, men 67.2.
| Gold Canyon | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 3.3% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.7% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3.7% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 3.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.5% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 31% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 23.3% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.8% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.4% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.9% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.6% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.6% | 13% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Gold Canyon has 1,077 jobs for its 4,075 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 32.8 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Commuting out is the norm in Gold Canyon: 5% of working residents work locally. For Gold Canyon, the mean commuting time is 33 minutes. The top destinations are Phoenix (24%), Mesa (15%) and Tempe (8%). Employers in Gold Canyon added 56 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,077.
| Gold Canyon | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.6% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Apache Junction 5 Ne weather station, 8 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 304 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Apache Junction 5 Ne weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 168 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Expect warm winters and scorching summers in Gold Canyon, with very little rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of adults in Gold Canyon who get no exercise outside work: 22%. CDC measures, 32 in all: Gold Canyon beats Arizona on 17 and trails on 9. Two figures for adults locally: 48% have high blood pressure, 85% had a checkup this year. Among 140 Arizona towns, just 5 have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Gold Canyon.
| Gold Canyon | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 14% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 36% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 75% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Gold Canyon | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.1% | 12% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 17.8% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $478K, is 9% below its July 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $2,918, against $1,879 across Arizona, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Homes sold in Gold Canyon spent a median 106 days on the market. A typical home locally is worth about $478,000, down 2.4% in a year, 15% above the Arizona typical home. Gold Canyon: 94% of households live in a home they own.
| Gold Canyon | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,542 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected losses in Gold Canyon break down as 66% from inland flooding and 17% from wildfires. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1998: 3.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Gold Canyon is unincorporated, so Pinal 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.
None within 15 miles of Gold Canyon; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Gold Canyon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
Census-designated place in Arizona, United States
Gold Canyon is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Pinal County, Arizona, United States.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Gold Canyon.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Canyon | #62 | C+ | C | — | C+ | B |
| Apache Junction | #67 | C+ | A− | C | C+ | C |
Gold Canyon reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Gold Canyon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gold Canyon grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #62 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B for health and C+ for schools.
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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