Phoenix, the state capital · Photo: DPPed · CC BY-SA 3.0How Arizona stacks up
Inland flooding accounts for 85% of the damage FEMA expects natural hazards to do to Arizona’s buildings each year. Its weak spots are test scores below most states and above-average crime. The sum of it: a C− and a score of 18, 42nd of 51.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
36th of 51C30/100 More crime than the typical state. Phoenix and Tucson weigh on the town measure; 49% of residents live in bottom-quarter places. Arizona reports 383 violent crimes per 100,000 people, against 329 nationally.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 20th highest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 42 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 90% of residents of Arizona’s 10,000+ towns.
The big places weigh on the total
Chino Valley leads its towns at #412 of 3,410 nationally, with San Luis and Somerton close behind. Glendale, Tempe and Avondale sit at the high-crime end of the national ranking.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Arizona | 3% | 49% |
Towns policed by others
Our town measure uses the crime each local police department reports to the FBI; towns without enough of the last three years are left out. In Arizona, 90% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. San Tan Valley, Casas Adobes and Catalina Foothills are among 26 places that report no crime of their own; county or state police patrol them, and their crimes aren’t counted by town. Among its neighbors, New Mexico counts the most (88%) and Nevada the least (60%).
Schools
46th of 51D10/100 Weaker test results than most. Few residents live in a top-quarter town; its best showing is Sierra Vista, #631 nationally. 28% of its 4th and 8th graders reach Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card, against 31% nationally (12th lowest).
In the class of 2023, 77.8% graduated on time, 3rd lowest; graduation counts as much as test results in the grade.
Spending: $12,318 per pupil, 4th lowest. Shown for context, not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 68 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
26th of 51B−50/100 About average on cost. Homes cost 4.9 times the typical household income, and the median tax bill is $1,879 (14th lowest). Taxes and prices disagree: 14th lowest tax bills, but home prices 12th highest against income. The state total looks better than its towns do.
Home values run 4.9 times the median household income, 12th highest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 68 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
24th of 51B−54/100 Health right at the national middle. 20% of adults describe their health as fair or poor, against 19% nationally. 24% of residents live in a top-quarter town, 5% in a bottom-quarter one; Paradise Valley ranks highest.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 68 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
20th of 51B62/100 Slightly more owners than average. Compared with 65% nationally, 67% of homes here are owner-occupied. Tucson Mountains leads its towns at #32 nationally; 18% of residents live in top-quarter towns.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 68 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
39th of 51C−24/100 Higher hazard risk than most states. FEMA expects $163 of damage a year for every $100,000 of buildings (14th highest). Even its best town, Lake Havasu City, ranks #889 of 5,239 nationally. Inland flooding leads the list (85%), then wildfires (10%).
Federal major-disaster declarations, 2015–2025: 1, fewest.
Share of expected building damage: inland flooding 85%, wildfire 10%, earthquake 3%.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 68 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
34th of 51C34/100 Commutes a bit longer than average. Commutes stretch longest from Surprise. At 25.4 minutes, the average commute is the 25th longest among the states. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Lake Havasu City its best at #179 of 5,235.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 68 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
15th of 51B+72/100 Growing, town after town. Between 2010 and 2020 it grew 11.9%, the 10th fastest change among the states. Its larger towns score well almost across the board, from Queen Creek to Buckeye.
Builders took out permits for 7.0 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 11th most.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 66 Arizona towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Arizona compares to its neighbors
Against California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, Arizona lands in the middle on every subject.
| Arizona | California | Nevada | Utah | New Mexico | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | C− 1842nd of 51 | D− 051st of 51 | D− 449th of 51 | A+ 1001st of 51 | D 1245th of 51 |
| Safety | C 3036th official · 3% in top towns | D 1243rd official · 2% in top towns | D 1037th official · 0% in top towns | A− 8414th official · 21% in top towns | D− 449th official · 0% in top towns |
| Schools | D 1040th official · 2% in top towns | B 6035th official · 17% in top towns | D 839th official · 0% in top towns | A− 763rd official · 8% in top towns | D 651st official · 1% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B− 5014th official · 6% in top towns | D− 445th official · <1% in top towns | C+ 4217th official · 2% in top towns | B 6222nd official · 25% in top towns | B+ 7211th official · 21% in top towns |
| Health | B− 5434th official · 24% in top towns | C 3242nd official · 18% in top towns | D 1043rd official · 0% in top towns | A 944th official · 48% in top towns | D 647th official · 1% in top towns |
| Housing | B 6225th official · 18% in top towns | D− 449th official · 4% in top towns | D 648th official · 5% in top towns | A 9413th official · 29% in top towns | B+ 6615th official · 10% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | C− 2438th official · 1% in top towns | D− 450th official · <1% in top towns | B− 4831st official · 10% in top towns | C− 1636th official · <1% in top towns | B− 5035th official · 20% in top towns |
| Commute | C 3427th official · 11% in top towns | D 646th official · 3% in top towns | C+ 3824th official · 12% in top towns | B+ 7210th official · 38% in top towns | B+ 6617th official · 35% in top towns |
| Growth | B+ 7210th official · 39% in top towns | C+ 4225th official · 14% in top towns | A 945th official · 60% in top towns | A 881st official · 48% in top towns | B− 4639th official · 34% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work