St. Joseph Bridge · National Register of Historic Places
Joseph City’s story
102 years in pictures
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1924Joseph City is settled
Joseph CityAZ
The town was settled in 1924 and has 2,153 residents today.
St. Joseph Bridge · Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
2,153
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$177K
Census ACS
Household income
$75K
median
Median age
23.2
years
Jobs based here
258
Balanced
Is Joseph City a good place to live?
Joseph City’s best subject grade is a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for walkability. 44% of residents are under 18 in Joseph City, against 21% in Arizona’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Only one of the 141 Arizona towns we compare has a lower age of the median resident than Joseph City. 17% of the land in Joseph City is conserved, above both the Arizona town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). St. Joseph Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. Joseph City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How Joseph City grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Joseph City is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.8 of 20; 2.3% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitDOpen →Jobs & income$75K median household incomeC−Open →HealthLittle Colorado Medical Center 21.1 miles awayCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $177K, 3.2 years of the Show Low area’s $55K median household incomeB+Open →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listC+Open →SchoolsAbout average among the towns comparedB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Joseph City: who provides what
Joseph City is unincorporated, so Navajo County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerAPS17.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterJoseph City Dwid water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers97% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesNavajo CountyNavajo County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Arizona you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereNavajo County RecorderNavajo County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code8603286032 100%Census 2020
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 Joseph City.
SchoolsB−
Public schools in Joseph City beat 52% of Arizona districts
The public schools here belong to the Joseph City Unified District. Two of the 4 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public school enrollment here: 415 students across 3 schools.
52%of AZ districts it outscoresB−School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph City Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 190 | A− |
| Joseph City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 128 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
HealthC
Joseph City is less healthy than 68% of U.S. towns
For adults in Joseph City, the share who report frequent mental distress is 19%. This Arizona town does better than the Arizona average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 21.
32%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Joseph City | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Arizona
1 better10 too close to call21 worse
| What stands out | Joseph City | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.6% | 15.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.4% | 6.6% |
Little Colorado Medical Center
21.1 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsC+
Open space protected for good: 16.7% of Joseph City
6.3 miles of trail. Joseph City’s density of trails is 0.9 miles per square mile.
16.7%conserved
16.7%
conserved · 790 of 4,728 acres
6.3 mi
of trails · 0.9 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Climate
Joseph City has mild winters and hot summers
The town’s typical July afternoon high stands at 94°F.
3″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter23–51°
Spring37–72°
Summer58–92°
Fall40–73°
Oct 24
typical first frost
Apr 22
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
With only 0.9 jobs per working resident, most people in Joseph City work out of town
For most workers, Joseph City is a place to come home to: only 11% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 49, to 258. The top destinations are Winslow (20%), Phoenix (14%) and Holbrook (9%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 59 miles.
11%work in town
| Joseph City | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Joseph City11%
Winslow20%
Phoenix14%
Holbrook9%
Mesa5%
59 mi
median commute distance
258
jobs based in Joseph City
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Joseph City has a moderate natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Of the losses FEMA expects in Joseph City, 74% come from inland flooding and 11% from lightning. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage locally than in 58% of U.S. communities.
58risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingLightningWildfire
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Joseph City
17pages on Joseph City
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Joseph City
About 2 of every 100 Joseph City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
Questions about Joseph City
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Joseph City, AZ expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.