Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Maricopa is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 75th of 139 graded towns in Arizona, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 60% of the country. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $340K for a typical one and 3.9 times the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income. Maricopa’s July high is 106°F, against 100°F in Arizona’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Only 9 of the 140 Arizona towns we compare have a higher average trip to work than Maricopa. The biggest park or preserve is Copper Sky Regional Park, at 115 acres.
Where Maricopa beats most towns.
43,482 counted in 2010 and 58,125 in 2020; an estimated 78,362 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 34.8% since 2020, after 33.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Maricopa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1858, comes before those of 97% of the Arizona towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,040 in 2000, 58,125 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1913 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Maricopa, 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 Maricopa.
Maricopa fares better on crime within Arizona than nationally, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 79% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Maricopa since 2014.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Maricopa Unified School District. Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 941 | B |
| Maricopa High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 1,840 | C− |
| Legacy Traditional School - MaricopaTop results in townGrades K–10 | Grades K–10 | 1,363 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Maricopa has 5,428 jobs for its 32,758 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 36.6 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Most working residents leave Maricopa for work: only 8% work in town. 22% of Maricopa workers work from home. Jobs based in Maricopa grew to 5,428 in 2023, 1,885 more than in 2013.
| Maricopa | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Maricopa 4 N weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 183 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 106.4°, hotter than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39°.
Maricopa has mild winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Maricopa’s January low is 39°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
27 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Maricopa is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Maricopa | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 15% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sorrento Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
| 2. Copper Sky Regional Park | 0.3 mi | 115 |
| 3. Pacana Park | — | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical value, about $340K, is 20% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Maricopa home is worth about $340,000, down 3.4% in a year, 18% below the Arizona typical home. 84% of households own their home in Maricopa.
| Maricopa | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,998 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 9,114 U.S. towns with household incomes like Maricopa’s, it is less healthy than 55%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Maricopa beats the Arizona average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Maricopa | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 32% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 31% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Maricopa | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.6% | 14.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| More adults with obesity | 38.4% | 31.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Children under 18 are 27% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 14% of residents (19% statewide). Maricopa has grown 35% since 2020, to 78,362 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Arizona.
| Maricopa | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 36.8 years | 41.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 24% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.1, men 36.4.
| Maricopa | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.8% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.3% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.8% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.2% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.4% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 17.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 72% of Arizona’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Maricopa; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Maricopa residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
Where Maricopa’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Arizona, United States
Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 76,654 residents as of 2024, Maricopa is the second largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Maricopa.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maricopa | #75 | C | C | B− | B− | B |
| Ak-Chin Village | — | — | A+ | — | B− | D− |
| Casa Grande | #133 | D | B− | C− | C− | C |
Ak-Chin Village has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ak-Chin Village reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Maricopa with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Maricopa grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #75 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B for health, B− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.