Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Safford is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, ranked 69th of 139 in Arizona, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 61% of Arizona towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $66K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $285K, 4.2 years of the Safford area’s $67K median household income. 36% of working residents work locally in Safford, above both the Arizona town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Graham County Courthouse and Buena Vista Hotel. Only 19 of Arizona’s 207 towns score higher on the outdoors.
Where Safford beats most towns.
Census counts: 173 in 1880, 10,129 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 3 maps from 1960 on.
23 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Safford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Safford, 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 Safford.
Safford carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Arizona (mostly inland flooding), has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
41 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Safford’s trail density is 4.4 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Dry Lake Park, 628 acres with 13.5 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dry Lake Park | 13.5 mi | 628 |
| 2. Firth Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
| 3. 14th Avenue And El Paso Boulevard Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Safford Unified District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Safford High School, with 828 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruth Powell Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 575 | B+ |
| Safford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 828 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
The typical Safford home is worth about $285,000, up 1.8% in a year, 32% below the Arizona typical home.
| Safford | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,048 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 76% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Safford Ag Ctr weather station records that about 142 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 99.5°, hotter than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 31.5°.
Safford has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Safford is 100°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Safford | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 100°F | 100°F | 85°F |
| January low | 32°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Safford’s working residents works in town. 4.4% of Safford workers work from home. Jobs based in Safford grew to 5,035 in 2023, 688 more than in 2013.
| Safford | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 4.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 87% of Arizona towns, with expected losses of about $313 per resident a year; that rating is what its B− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1991, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Safford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 10,038 U.S. towns with household incomes like Safford’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Safford beats the Arizona average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 72% of adults had a checkup this year in Safford.
| Safford | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 75% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Safford | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.9% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Safford
About 8 of every 100 Safford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
11.4% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
23 places in Safford on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Safford.
City in Arizona, United States
Safford (Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,129. The city is the county seat of Graham County. Safford is the principal city of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Graham County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Safford.
Safford reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Safford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Safford grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #69 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B− for health and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
8 notable people were born here, including Elliot Johnson and D. J. Carrasco.
