Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Tempe is a city of 190,571, and it grades B− overall, ranked 53rd of 139 in Arizona. Residents are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $80K. The trade-offs: its police reported 802 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 90% of U.S. towns, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 75% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Tempe’s July high is 106°F, above both Arizona’s towns (100°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). No town in Arizona scores higher than Tempe on walkability. Its National Register listings include Niels Petersen House and Tempe Butte.
Where Tempe beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Farmer-Goodwin House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 75,603 |
| Rio Salado College | 11,104 |
| Arizona College of Nursing-Tempe | 1,246 |
Its 53 National Register listings are more than in 96% of Arizona towns with a listing.
Census counts: 135 in 1880, 180,587 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 5 maps from 1913 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Tempe is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 10%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tempe. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaState Farm Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaMountain America Stadium
9 mi Stadium & arenaMortgage Matchup Center
9 mi Stadium & arenaChase Field
in town Stadium & arenaMullett Arena
21 mi Stadium & arenaDesert Diamond ArenaState Farm Stadium: Taken by en:Flickr user MCSixth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mountain America Stadium: Clintus McGintus, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mortgage Matchup Center: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chase Field: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Bolken, Public domain · Mullett Arena: Kyvuh, CC0 · Desert Diamond Arena: Unknown, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tempe, 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 Tempe.
Tempe is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Phoenix and beyond and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
232,117 jobs are based in Tempe, 2.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 174,203 in 2013 to 232,117.
About one in 4 of Tempe’s working residents works in town. 21% of Tempe workers work from home. Jobs based in Tempe grew to 232,117 in 2023, 57,914 more than in 2013.
| Tempe | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 21% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Three of its 69 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connolly Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 923 | B− |
| Corona Del Sol High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,600 | B+ |
| Center for Educational ExcellenceTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 332 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Arizona is stroke: 2% of its 153,055 adults have had a stroke, against 3.4% statewide.
24% of adults have high blood pressure in Tempe. Among 140 Arizona towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Tempe. 27% of adults have obesity in Tempe.
| Tempe | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 15% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 75% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.2% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Tempe | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2% | 3.4% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 3.8% | 6.4% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.3% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 7,665 to 5,940 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Tempe’s property crime rate is 26.9 per 1,000 residents. Tempe reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less. Tempe’s violent crime rate is 4.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Tempe | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 26.9 per 1,000 residents | 11 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
41 miles of trail in 67 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Papago Park - Tempe, 266 acres with 10.4 miles of trail. The trail density in Tempe is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Tempe | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 15% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Papago Park - Tempe | 10.4 mi | 266 |
| 2. Kiwanis Park | 1.3 mi | 127 |
| 3. Neil G. Giuliano Park | 1.1 mi | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1978, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Tempe.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 105.6°, hotter than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 40.5°.
Tempe has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $459K, is 8% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Tempe home is worth about $459,000, about the same as a year ago, 10% above the Arizona typical home. Among 140 Arizona towns, just 5 have a lower share of households owning their home than Tempe.
| Tempe | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,743 a month | $1,190 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 46% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
19 within 15 miles of the center of Tempe
College town 20 of every 100 Tempe residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
5 colleges in town.
53 places in Tempe on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Tempe.
City in the United States
Tempe ( tem-PEE; O'odham: Oidbaḍ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is home to the main campus of Arizona State University, one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Tempe.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tempe | #53 | B− | C− | D | B | A |
| Phoenix | #65 | C+ | C | D | B+ | B+ |
| Chandler | #9 | A− | C− | B− | A− | A |
| Mesa | #50 | B− | C | C− | B | A− |
| Guadalupe | #47 | B− | B+ | — | B | D |
| Scottsdale | #24 | B | D | C | B+ | A+ |
Guadalupe reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Tempe with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tempe grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #53 of 139 in Arizona. It grades A for health, D for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 5.2 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−.
25 notable people were born here, including Carl Hayden and Marvin Bagley III.
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