MescalAZ
A town of 1,760, settled in 1913.
Is Mescal a good place to live?
Mescal’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for walkability. 36% of residents are 65 or older in Mescal, against 22% in Arizona’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 15 of Arizona’s 204 towns score lower on walkability. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 1.2% of the land in Mescal is conserved, against 14% in Arizona’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 12 of Arizona’s 207 towns score lower on the outdoors. Mescal has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
98% of working residents leave Mescal for work
Where Mescal’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Mescal grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Mescal is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Mescal: who provides what
Mescal is unincorporated, so Cochise 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Mescal.
Very high risk in Mescal, with inland flooding at the top
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fewer young adults than Arizona overall
Adults 18 to 34 are 6% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 36% of residents (19% statewide). Mescal’s median age is 53.9 years. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Arizona.
| Mescal | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.9 years | 41.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 24% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.8 points. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 100% are men (AZ 52%).
| Mescal | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 19.4% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.9% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 1.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 22.3% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.8% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 30.1% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.7% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.4% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 13% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Mescal’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Mescal for work: only 2% work in town. The average trip to work in Mescal is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Mescal grew to 133 in 2023, 77 more than in 2013.
| Mescal | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 12% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mescal has four seasons and hot summers
Mescal has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 94° and January nights drop to 34°.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mescal is healthier than 60% of U.S. towns
Mescal beats the Arizona average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 28% of adults feel lonely in Mescal.
| Mescal | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Mescal | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.1% | 14.7% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.3% | 13.2% |
| More adults with arthritis | 35.6% | 25.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Mescal sells for about $349K
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Saguaro National Park and 24 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mescal. Close and well known come first.
10 mi National ParkSaguaro National Park848K visitors a year
10 mi CaveKartchner Caverns State Park24 mi AttractionThe Thing?
28 mi MuseumPima Air & Space Museum
35 mi Stadium & arenaArizona Stadium
39 mi MountainMount LemmonPhoto credits
Saguaro National Park: Luke Jones from Yucca Valley, CC BY 2.0 · Kartchner Caverns State Park: Mike Lewis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pima Air & Space Museum: The original uploader was MCB at English Wikipedia. Later versions were uploade, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Arizona Stadium: Wcarlisle4, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Lemmon: Debby Kriegel, Public domain
Everything we know about Mescal
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Mescal; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Mescal residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
About Mescal
Unincorporated community in the state of Arizona, United States
Mescal is a census-designated place located in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Mescal was originally a populated place, at a rail station on the Southern Pacific Railroad at an elevation of 4,085 feet. The modern community lies to the south of the railroad near Interstate 10, at 4,170 feet. Mescal had a population of 1,812 in the 2010 Census. Mescal had a post office from 1913 until 1931.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.9 sq mi
- Area code
- 520
Questions about Mescal
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Mescal, AZ expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $191,000, 54% below the Arizona typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.