The 10 Best Suburbs In Arizona For 2023


The best suburbs in Arizona are Oro Valley and Paradise Valley for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

Are you sick of being a city slicker?

Do you long for life in suburban Arizona? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.

We do, too.

If you wanted to move out to the suburbs of Phoenix, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which Arizona suburb was best?

No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.

Oro Valley is the place to be when it comes to being a soccer mom in suburban Arizona.

So if you’re thinking of packing up your mini van and making a move to a quiet place to live in Arizona, we’ve got you covered.

Keep on reading for a detailed methodology. Or, check out the best places to live in Arizona and the best places to raise a family in Arizona.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Best Suburbs In Arizona For 2023

Oro Valley, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Danman083 at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 46,515
Median Income: $92,548
Median Home Price: $348,200
More on Oro Valley:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Oro Valley is located 19 miles north of Tucson.

Paradise Valley, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Tony the Marine (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 12,666
Median Income: $203,659
Median Home Price: $1,778,000
More on Paradise Valley:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Paradise Valley is located 7 miles east of Phoenix.

Marana, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Phillip Capper | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 50,834
Median Income: $94,983
Median Home Price: $291,900
More on Marana:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Marana is located 26 miles north of Tucson.

Litchfield Park, AZ

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,656
Median Income: $94,844
Median Home Price: $393,900
More on Litchfield Park:  Data | Cost Of Living

Litchfield Park is located 9 miles west of Glendale.

Fountain Hills, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Bernard Gagnon | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 23,639
Median Income: $90,143
Median Home Price: $449,300
More on Fountain Hills:  Data | Cost Of Living

Fountain Hills is located 8 miles east of Scottsdale.

Sahuarita, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Basgen | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 33,524
Median Income: $91,110
Median Home Price: $251,800
More on Sahuarita:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Sahuarita is located 16 miles south of Tucson.

Peoria, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Tony the Marine (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 187,733
Median Income: $81,017
Median Home Price: $314,000
More on Peoria:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Peoria is located 18 miles north of Glendale.

Surprise, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Venske | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 141,875
Median Income: $76,623
Median Home Price: $282,300
More on Surprise:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Surprise is located 17 miles west of Glendale.

Queen Creek, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Tony the Marine | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 57,728
Median Income: $111,743
Median Home Price: $407,800
More on Queen Creek:  Data | Cost Of Living

Queen Creek is located 7 miles east of Gilbert.

Maricopa, AZ

Source: Wikipedia User Chris J | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 57,075
Median Income: $82,388
Median Home Price: $235,000
More on Maricopa:  Data | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Maricopa is located 18 miles south of Chandler.

Methodology:How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Grand Canyon State

We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in Arizona. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”

First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Arizona, we looked at every town with at least 5,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.

In other words, suburbs.

We paid particular attention to the following criteria:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Population Density (Higher is Better)
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Commute Time
  • Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We ranked each suburb in Arizona across these criteria from one to 20, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In Arizona.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in Arizona

Read on to see why Oro Valley is the ‘burb with the most, while Coolidge is probably not the best place to live in Arizona.

Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In Arizona

If you’re measuring the locations in Arizona where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

Here’s a look at the worst suburbs in Arizona according to the data:

  1. Coolidge
  2. Guadalupe
  3. Casa Grande

For more Arizona reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Suburbs In Arizona

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Oro Valley 46,515 $92,548 $348,200
2 Paradise Valley 12,666 $203,659 $1,778,000
3 Marana 50,834 $94,983 $291,900
4 Litchfield Park 6,656 $94,844 $393,900
5 Fountain Hills 23,639 $90,143 $449,300
6 Sahuarita 33,524 $91,110 $251,800
7 Peoria 187,733 $81,017 $314,000
8 Surprise 141,875 $76,623 $282,300
9 Queen Creek 57,728 $111,743 $407,800
10 Maricopa 57,075 $82,388 $235,000
11 Goodyear 93,651 $91,073 $333,900
12 Tempe 178,862 $64,080 $321,300
13 Avondale 88,065 $69,241 $252,400
14 Florence 25,356 $63,072 $210,000
15 El Mirage 35,410 $65,072 $204,700
16 Apache Junction 38,311 $48,917 $145,700
17 Tolleson 7,180 $48,002 $218,600
18 Casa Grande 53,488 $59,175 $177,700
19 Guadalupe 5,334 $45,114 $172,600
20 Coolidge 13,347 $51,512 $127,700
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.