Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,902, settled in 1878. Public schools that outperform most of Arizona.
Snowflake grades B− overall, 40th of 139 graded towns in Arizona, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 80% of Arizona towns on state tests and graduation and natural-hazard risk is low. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 72% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $337K, 6.2 years of the Show Low area’s $55K median household income. 38% of residents are under 18 in Snowflake, above both Arizona’s towns (21%) and U.S. towns (22%). Snowflake has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Jesse N. Smith House and John R. Hulet House. Only 7 of the 140 Arizona towns we compare have a lower median age than Snowflake.
Where Snowflake beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Highland Primary School | K–3 | 503 |
| George Washington Academy | K–8 | 124 |
| Snowflake Junior High School | 6–9 | 434 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Snowflake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 275 in 1880, 6,104 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1921 and a map from 1970 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Snowflake, 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 Snowflake.
Snowflake carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Arizona (mostly inland flooding), has more than doubled its jobs in ten years and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Arizona.
Children under 18 are 38% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 29% of residents (36% statewide). 15% of Snowflake residents are 65 or older. Snowflake has grown 13% since 2020, to 6,902 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Snowflake | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 24% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Snowflake | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 21.2% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 17.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7.1% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.3% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.1% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.2% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.2% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.8% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.6% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.1% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Its public schools are run by the Snowflake Unified District. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Snowflake High School, with 949 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 503 | A |
| Snowflake High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 949 | A− |
| Snowflake Intermediate SchoolTop results in townGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 423 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of Arizona towns; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Snowflake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
71% of adults had a checkup this year in Snowflake. Snowflake beats the Arizona average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 20% of adults get no exercise outside work in Snowflake.
| Snowflake | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Snowflake | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.8% | 13.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.4% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
28 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in Snowflake is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pioneer Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Snowflake weather station records that about 48 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 83% of Arizona places with climate records. July afternoons average 90.3°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 80% of Arizona places with climate records; January nights average 20.2°.
Snowflake has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Snowflake’s July high is 90°F. About 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Snowflake | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 100°F | 85°F |
| January low | 20°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Snowflake home is worth about $337,000, about the same as a year ago, 19% below the Arizona typical home.
| Snowflake | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,350 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here grew from 876 in 2013 to 1,831.
About one in 3 of Snowflake’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Snowflake has added 955 jobs, to 1,831 in 2023. The top destinations are Show Low (12%), Taylor (12%) and Phoenix (7%).
| Snowflake | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 31% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Snowflake; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Snowflake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
7 places in Snowflake on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Snowflake.
Town in Navajo County, Arizona, U.S.
Snowflake (Navajo: Tó Diłhił Biih Yílį́) is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, Mormon pioneers. As of the 2020 census, Snowflake had a population of 6,104. Snowflake is 25 miles (40 km) south of Interstate 40 (formerly U.S. Route 66) via Highway 77. The Apache Railway provides freight service.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Snowflake.
Snowflake and Taylor report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Snowflake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Snowflake grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #40 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
6 notable people were born here, including Jeff Flake and Jake Flake.
