Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Phoenix has 1.7 million people, so its C+ is an average across neighborhoods that differ more from each other than most towns do. Within Arizona, that puts it 65th of 139. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. What weighs on its grade: its crime rate is higher than 91% of U.S. towns, with 11,727 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 55% of working residents work locally in Phoenix, where Arizona’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Pueblo Grande Ruin and Phoenix Indian School Historic District. Phoenix's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns.
Where Phoenix beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Pueblo Grande Ruin| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Grand Canyon University | 24,302 |
| Phoenix College | 7,530 |
| Paradise Valley Community College | 4,363 |
Pueblo Grande Ruin is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 238 National Register listings are more than in any other Arizona town with a listing.
Census counts: 240 in 1870, 1,608,139 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 5 maps from 1912 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Phoenix is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Phoenix. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaMortgage Matchup Center
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaState Farm Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaChase Field
10 mi Stadium & arenaDesert Diamond Arena
in town MountainCamelback Mountain
14 mi Stadium & arenaMountain America StadiumMortgage Matchup Center: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · State Farm Stadium: Taken by en:Flickr user MCSixth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chase Field: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Bolken, Public domain · Desert Diamond Arena: Unknown, CC BY 2.0 · Camelback Mountain: Dru Bloomfield from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Mountain America Stadium: Clintus McGintus, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Phoenix, 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 Phoenix.
Phoenix has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak, but it reports more crime than Tempe and its other graded neighbors.
847 miles of trail in 224 parks and preserves. The trail density in Phoenix is 1.6 miles per square mile. South Mountain Park and Preserve, at 16,420 acres with 118.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Mountain Park and Preserve | 118.4 mi | 16,420 |
| 2. Phoenix Mountains Preserve | 95.5 mi | 5,345 |
| 3. Sonoran Preserve | 57.5 mi | 9,835 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 608 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy of Math and Science Desert SkyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,339 | B− |
| Trevor Browne High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,850 | D |
| BASIS PhoenixTop results in townGrades 5–12 | Grades 5–12 | 781 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Tempe (D) to Paradise Valley (B+). Reported crimes fell from 54,282 to 46,001 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Phoenix’s violent crime rate is 6.9 per 1,000 residents. Phoenix reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less. Phoenix’s property crime rate is 20.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Phoenix | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.3 per 1,000 residents | 11 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Phoenix beats the Arizona average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 71% of adults had a checkup this year in Phoenix.
| Phoenix | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Phoenix | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.1% | 6.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.4% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 41.9°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 105.4°.
Phoenix has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Phoenix | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 105°F | 100°F | 85°F |
| January low | 42°F | 36°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 2013, Phoenix has added 160,110 jobs, to 959,509 in 2023. 19% of Phoenix workers work from home. The top destinations are Scottsdale (10%), Tempe (9%) and Glendale (4%).
| Phoenix | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 12% of residents (19% statewide). Phoenix has grown 3.6% since 2020, to 1,665,481 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Arizona.
| Phoenix | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 34.9 years | 41.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 24% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 21% | 22% |
49.8% women, 50.2% men
About 101 men for every 100 women. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.6, men 34.3.
| Phoenix | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.1% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.4% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.5% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.8% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.2% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.9% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.6% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.1% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
863 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 57 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 863 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Phoenix.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $404K, is 12% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Phoenix home is worth about $404,000, down 1.2% in a year, close to the Arizona typical home.
| Phoenix | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,582 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 46% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
22 within 15 miles of the center of Phoenix
About 6 of every 100 Phoenix residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
12 colleges in town.
238 places in Phoenix on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Phoenix.
Capital and most populous city of Arizona, U.S.
Phoenix ( FEE-niks) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, Phoenix is the fifth-most populous city in the United States and the most populous state capital. The Phoenix metropolitan area, with an estimated 5.19 million residents, is the tenth-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and the most populous in the Mountain states and Southwest. Phoenix is the county seat of Maricopa County in the Salt River Valley and Arizona Sun Corridor and, with an area of 517.9 square miles (1,341 square kilometers), is the largest city by area in Arizona and 11th-largest city by area in the United States. Phoenix was settl…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Phoenix.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | #65 | C+ | C | D | B+ | B+ |
| Scottsdale | #24 | B | D | C | B+ | A+ |
| Peoria | #25 | B | C− | C+ | A− | A |
| Glendale | #79 | C | C | D | B+ | B |
| Paradise Valley | #14 | B+ | D− | B+ | B+ | A+ |
| Tempe | #53 | B− | C− | D | B | A |
| New River | #15 | B+ | C− | — | A− | A |
| Cave Creek | #13 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
New River and Cave Creek report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Phoenix with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Phoenix grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #65 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and B+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($88,301 across the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, 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.
35 notable people were born here, including Chester Bennington and Stevie Nicks.
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