Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 14,934, settled in 1898.
Somerton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $267K, 4.2 years of the Yuma metro’s $63K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 42nd of 139 in Arizona. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 68% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. Somerton’s July high is 108°F, above both the Arizona town median (100°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Somerton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Only 1 of the 56 Arizona towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Somerton.
Where Somerton beats most towns.
Where Somerton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Somerton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 938 in 1920, 14,197 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2010 and 2 maps from 1940 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Somerton, 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 Somerton.
Somerton fares better on crime within Arizona than nationally, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values climbing faster than Arizona’s.
At 8.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 94% of Arizona’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 81 to 46 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Somerton’s property crime rate is 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Somerton Elementary District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 697 | C+ |
| Somerton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 608 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 31% in five years, to about $267K, against 7% across Arizona.
The median rent in Somerton is $896 a month. The typical Somerton home is worth about $267,000, up 2% in a year, 36% below the Arizona typical home.
| Somerton | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $896 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Somerton for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Somerton has added 388 jobs, to 2,698 in 2023. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Somerton.
| Somerton | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
31% of Somerton adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Somerton beats the Arizona average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 70% of Somerton adults had a checkup this year.
| Somerton | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 15% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 12% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 21% | 19% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Somerton | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.2% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.8% | 25.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 31.2% | 13.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Yuma Mcas weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 181 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. January nights average 44.9°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 107.5°.
Among 140 Arizona towns, just 3 have a higher January low than Somerton. Somerton has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Somerton | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 15% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Council Avenue Park | — | 9 |
| 2. Joe Munoz Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Perricone Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Somerton
About 8 of every 100 Somerton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
City in Arizona, United States
Somerton is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, Somerton had a population of 14,197. It is part of the Yuma metropolitan area. Somerton was established in 1898 and incorporated in 1918. Somerton's economy is based on agriculture, medical services, and tourism.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Somerton grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #42 of 139 in Arizona. It grades C for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.