Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Arizona town.
Payson earns a D, 123rd among Arizona's 139 graded towns, mostly because of incomes. The median household income is $68K, and 11% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it has 15 miles of trail and 32% conserved land. 40% of residents are 65 or older in Payson, against 22% in Arizona’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Ox Bow Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 68% of U.S. towns.
Where Payson beats most towns.
Ox Bow InnEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Payson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,787 in 1970, 16,351 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1936 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Payson, 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 Payson.
Payson carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Arizona (mostly inland flooding), but it is a long drive from an emergency room and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Arizona.
People 65 and older are two in five residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (23% statewide). In Payson, the median age is 60.9 years. This Arizona town is growing: up 2.1% since 2020, to 16,693 residents (2025 estimate). For residents locally, the share who are under 18 is 15%.
| Payson | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 60.9 years | 41.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Payson | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.6% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.4% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 4.9% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.1% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.4% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.3% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.9% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 30.3% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.4% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The public schools here belong to the Payson Unified District. The largest public high school is Payson High School, with 733 students. Of its 9 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julia Randall Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 503 | B− |
| Payson High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 733 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
In Payson, the trail network density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Rumsey Park, 85 acres with 1.1 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in the town: 3, covering 146 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rumsey Park | 1.1 mi | 85 |
| 2. Green Valley Park | 0.3 mi | 38 |
| 3. Payson Rodeo Grounds | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 5,607 working residents takes 19.4 minutes, against 25.4 across Arizona.
Half of commuters travel less than 62 miles. Payson: 33% of working residents work locally. Jobs based in Payson grew to 4,185 in 2023, 684 more than in 2013. The typical journey to work locally is 19 minutes.
| Payson | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 33% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 93% of Arizona towns, with expected losses of about $107 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
For Payson, the risk rating from FEMA is 28 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 62% come from inland flooding and 19% from wildfires. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1993: 3.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 382 to 285 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate for Payson comes to 14.1 per 1,000 residents. The violent offense rate for Payson comes to 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Payson | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.1 per 1,000 residents | 11 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expect July afternoons of 92° and January nights of 30°, with about 19 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The nearest emergency room, Honorhealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Medical Center, is 52.6 miles away in a straight line. Against the 10,301 U.S. towns with household incomes like Payson’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
In Payson, 16% of adults report frequent physical distress. Of 32 CDC measures, Payson beats the Arizona average on 8 and trails it on 10. Among adults in the town, 13% binge drink and 14% report frequent mental distress.
| Payson | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Payson | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.1% | 13.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.4% | 12% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.4% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 7.2 years of the Payson area’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $444K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of Arizona towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
On the market in Payson: a median 40 days to sell. For Payson, the median rent is $1,345 a month. Also worth knowing: homes in Payson sold for 97.8% of their list price on average.
| Payson | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,345 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Payson; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Payson residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
Town in Gila County, Arizona
Payson (Navajo: Ndzistsooí) is a town in northern Gila County, Arizona, United States. Due to Payson's location being very near to the geographic center of Arizona, it has been called "The Heart of Arizona." Payson is also considered part of the colloquially defined Northern Arizona region, and the town serves as a gateway to the vast wilderness of the Colorado Plateau. The town is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest, the largest of the six national forests in Arizona—and the ninth largest national forest in the United States. Payson boasts a lively festival calendar, including The World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo established in 1884, as well as the Arizona State Old Time Fiddlin' Champi…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Payson.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payson | #123 | D | C− | C | B | B |
| Star Valley | #22 | B | B | — | B | B |
Star Valley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Payson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Payson grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #123 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B for health, C for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. That is 7.2 years of the area's median household income ($61,986 across the Payson, AZ 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−.