Along Old Rt. 66, East of Williams, AZ 2005, 2011
Parks’s story
112 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2011.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1914Parks is settled
ParksAZ
A town of 1,706, settled in 1914.
Photo: Kaibab National Forest · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
1,706
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$614K
+0.1% in a year
Household income
$78K
median
Median age
44.0
years
Jobs based here
121
A commuter town
Is Parks a good place to live?
Parks’ best subject grade is an A for health; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 88% of the land in Parks is conserved, above both Arizona’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest park or preserve is Coconino National Forest, at 113 acres. Parks has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Parks stand out
Where Parks beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
A growing town
Parks has grown 16% from 2010 to 2020
1,188 counted in 2010 and 1,382 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Parks grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Parks is from typical.
Hazard riskwildfire tops the listD−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 3.4 of 20; 2% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitD−Open →HealthFlagstaff Medical Center 18.9 miles awayAOpen →Cost of livingC+Open →SchoolsBOpen →Jobs & income$78K median household income; 121 jobs based hereB−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.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 44.0; 45% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Parks: who provides what
Parks is unincorporated, so Coconino County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerAPS17.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & county servicesCoconino CountyCoconino 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 hereCoconino County RecorderCoconino County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP codes86018, 8604686018 81% · 86046 19%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 Parks.
OutdoorsC+
Open space protected for good: nearly a third of Parks
Trails run 135 miles in 1 park or preserve. In Parks, the trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile, below the Arizona town median (1.1) but above the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
87.9%conserved
87.9%
conserved · 95,165 of 108,256 acres
135 mi
of trails · 0.8 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coconino National Forest | 0.3 mi | 113 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
SchoolsB
Parks’ public schools outperform 58% of Arizona districts
Its public schools are run by the Maine Consolidated School District. 134 students attend Parks’s public school.
58%of AZ districts it outscoresBSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Consolidated SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 134 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D−
Parks stands out in Arizona and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is higher
FEMA puts nearly three fifths of Parks’s expected hazard losses down to wildfires, and 26% to inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 98% of U.S. communities.
98risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
WildfireInland floodingAvalanches
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthA
Compared with most of Arizona and the rest of the country, fewer of Parks’ adults have obesity
In Parks, 28% of adults feel lonely. CDC measures, 32 in all: Parks beats Arizona on 14 and trails on 2.
91%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Parks | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 32% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 21% | 19% |
32 measures vs. Arizona
14 better16 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Parks | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 13.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.5% | 14.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 8.8% |
Flagstaff Medical Center
18.9 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade C+
Homes in Parks are worth about $614K, by Zillow’s estimate
Parks: 96% of households own their home.
$614KZillow home value
Typical home value
Parks$614K
Arizona$417K
+0.1%
value change, 1 year
4
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Parks’ workers commute out
Half of commuters travel less than 26 miles. 5.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Parks. Only 3% of working residents stay in Parks for work; the rest commute out. Parks’ average trip to work is 31 minutes.
3%work in town
| Parks | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 10% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Parks3%
Flagstaff27%
Williams15%
Phoenix11%
Grand Canyon Village6%
26 mi
median commute distance
121
jobs based in Parks
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Parks has snowy winters and pleasant summers
A winter brings about 90 inches of snow, with January nights at 17° and July afternoons at 83°.
90″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–45°
Spring28–60°
Summer46–81°
Fall31–64°
Sep 25
typical first frost
Jun 11
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Nearby attractions
All 24 attractions →Humphreys Peak and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Parks. Close and well known come first.
17 mi MountainHumphreys Peak
16 mi Ski areaArizona Snowbowl53 runs · 2,368 ft vertical
25 mi National MonumentSunset Crater Volcano National Monument108K visitors a year
33 mi Scenic railwayGrand Canyon Railway
34 mi MountainCathedral Rock
38 mi National forestCoconino National ForestSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Humphreys Peak: Bob Blasi; Coconino National Forest, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Arizona Snowbowl: Frederick Dennstedt from los angeles, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument: National Park Service, Public domain · Grand Canyon Railway: Drew Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of California, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cathedral Rock: Terrydarc, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coconino National Forest: Adam Baker from Houston / Moscow / Toulouse (travel a lot), CC BY 2.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Parks
17pages on Parks
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Parks; the nearest are
Northern Arizona UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Flagstaff18.9 mi$13,009 in-state tuitionCoconino Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Flagstaff19.8 mi$2,907 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Parks residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Parks for work
Where Parks’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
121jobs based in Parks
3%of working residents work in town
26 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Parks
CDP in Coconino County, Arizona
Parks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,188 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 170 sq mi
- Elevation
- 7,080 ft
- ZIP code
- 86018
- Area code
- 928
Questions about Parks
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Parks, AZ expensive?
That is 8.4 years of the area's median household income ($72,966 across the Flagstaff, AZ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.