Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,690, settled in 1881.
Thatcher is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 3rd among Arizona's 139 graded towns. It reports less crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, residents are healthier than 79% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its schools outperform 78% of the state's. Its lowest mark, a C, is in incomes. Thatcher’s trail density is 5.0 miles per square mile, above both Arizona’s towns (1.1) and U.S. towns (0.4). Of the 56 Arizona towns we compare, none has a lower violent crime rate than Thatcher. Thatcher is home to Eastern Arizona College.
Where Thatcher beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Thatcher Elementary School | 3–6 | 549 |
| Jack Daley Primary School | PK–2 | 418 |
| Thatcher Middle School | 7–8 | 273 |
0.9% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Thatcher is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 320 in 1890, 5,231 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1921 and 3 maps from 1960 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thatcher, 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 Thatcher.
Thatcher pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Arizona norm, pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and fares better on crime within Arizona than nationally.
Thatcher sits below both the Arizona town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%) on this measure. 33 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. H. Lyle Grant Thatcher Park | 0.4 mi | 5 |
| 2. Thatcher Splash Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 3. Daley Estates Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $351K.
Its public schools are run by the Thatcher Unified District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Thatcher High School, with 512 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thatcher Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 549 | A− |
| Thatcher High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 512 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
At 7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 100% of Arizona’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Thatcher is 5.1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
71% of Thatcher adults had a checkup this year. Thatcher beats the Arizona average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of Thatcher adults have high blood pressure.
| Thatcher | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Thatcher | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.9% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 81.5% | 85.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Safford Ag Ctr weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 142 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 99.2°, hotter than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 31.2°.
Thatcher has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Thatcher’s July high is 99°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Thatcher | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 99°F | 100°F | 85°F |
| January low | 31°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Thatcher for work: only 14% work in town. Since 2013, Thatcher has added 139 jobs, to 1,611 in 2023. The top destinations are Safford (30%), Morenci (8%) and Phoenix (6%).
| Thatcher | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Thatcher grades A overall with a typical home of about $351K, below the Arizona typical value; only 3 of the 9 Arizona towns graded A− or better can say that. Values rose 2.4% in the past year while the Arizona typical home fell 1%.
The typical Thatcher home is worth about $351,000, 16% below the Arizona typical home.
| Thatcher | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $939 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
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 2003, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Thatcher.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thatcher
About 12 of every 100 Thatcher residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
3 notable people were born in Thatcher.
Town in Graham County, Arizona
Thatcher is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, Thatcher had a population of 5,231. It is the home of Eastern Arizona College (EAC).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Thatcher.
Safford reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Thatcher with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Thatcher grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #3 of 139 in Arizona. It grades A− for health, A for safety and A− for schools.
Not for the area. That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($67,325 across the Safford, AZ 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+.
3 notable people were born here, including Frank Wanlass and Del M. Clawson.
