Tonto BasinAZ
A town of 1,750, settled in 1929. Public schools that outperform most of Arizona.
Is Tonto Basin a good place to live?
The best of Tonto Basin’s subject grades is an A− for schools; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Tonto Basin’s average trip to work is 54 minutes, where Arizona’s towns sit at 24 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 12 of Arizona’s 207 towns do worse. 85% of the land in Tonto Basin is conserved, where Arizona’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Tonto Basin has 1 place on the National Register. Tonto Basin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Tonto Basin stand out
Where Tonto Basin beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
92% of working residents leave Tonto Basin for work
Where Tonto Basin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Tonto Basin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Tonto Basin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Tonto Basin: who provides what
Tonto Basin is unincorporated, so Gila County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Tonto Basin.
Nearly a third of Tonto Basin is conserved land
30 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. Tonto Basin’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Tonto Basin beat 76% of Arizona districts
Its public schools are run by the Tonto Basin Elementary District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonto Basin ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 79 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests
Very high risk in Tonto Basin, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 96% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Tonto Basin’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Tonto Basin for work: only 8% work in town. 19% of Tonto Basin residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Tonto Basin has added 55 jobs, to 95 in 2023.
| Tonto Basin | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mild winters and hot summers in Tonto Basin
Tonto Basin has mild winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. The July high in Tonto Basin is 104°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Tonto Basin are worth about $338K, by Zillow’s estimate
The typical Tonto Basin home is worth about $338,000, about the same as a year ago, 19% below the Arizona typical home. 91% of households own their home in Tonto Basin.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
On CDC estimates, Tonto Basin is less healthy than 58% of U.S. towns
Tonto Basin beats the Arizona average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. Only 7 of the 141 Arizona towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Tonto Basin.
| Tonto Basin | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 36% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Tonto Basin | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.2% | 12% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.5% | 13.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.4% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Tonto Basin
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Tonto Basin; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Tonto Basin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
About Tonto Basin
CDP in Gila County, Arizona
Tonto Basin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Gila County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2010 United States census, up from 840 in 2000. Within Tonto Basin is located in the unincorporated community of Punkin Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 31 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,238 ft
- ZIP code
- 85553
- Area code
- 928
Questions about Tonto Basin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Tonto Basin, AZ a good place to live?
Public schools that outperform most of Arizona.
Is Tonto Basin, AZ expensive?
That is 5.5 years of the area's median household income ($61,986 across the Payson, 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−.