Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Tucson might be more expensive than living in rural Arizona, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Tucson neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Tucson are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Tucson for 2025? According to the most recent census data, Fairgrounds looks to be the cheapest Tucson neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Tucson. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Tucson that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Tucson.
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Arizona
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arizona
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Tucson For 2025
1. Fairgrounds
/10
Population: 2,147
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (16th cheapest)
More on Fairgrounds:
2. Santa Cruz Southwest
/10
Population: 2,751
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (50th cheapest)
More on Santa Cruz Southwest:
3. Bravo Park Lane
/10
Population: 2,154
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (38th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (25th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (5th cheapest)
More on Bravo Park Lane:
4. El Rio Acres
/10
Population: 2,115
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (42nd cheapest)
More on El Rio Acres:
5. Country Glenn
/10
Population: 1,179
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.4 (5cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (12th cheapest)
More on Country Glenn:
6. Barrio Centro
/10
Population: 516
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (50th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (24th cheapest)
More on Barrio Centro:
7. Parkway Terrace
/10
Population: 138
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (50th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (24th cheapest)
More on Parkway Terrace:
8. A Mountain
/10
Population: 2,502
Cost Of Living Index: 93 (58th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (15th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (10th cheapest)
More on A Mountain:
9. Las Vistas
/10
Population: 2,674
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (38th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (43rd cheapest)
More on Las Vistas:
10. San Ignacio Yaqui
/10
Population: 471
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (4cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (38th cheapest)
More on San Ignacio Yaqui:
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Tucson Hoods In 2025
To rank the cheapest places to live in Tucson, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 128 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Tucson.” We’re lookin’ at you, Fairgrounds.
We updated this article for 2025. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Tucson. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Tucson
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Tucson where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Tucson are Fairgrounds, Santa Cruz Southwest, Bravo Park Lane, El Rio Acres, Country Glenn, Barrio Centro, Parkway Terrace, A Mountain, Las Vistas, and San Ignacio Yaqui.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Tucson aren’t all cheap. North University takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Tucson.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Tucson are North University, Mountain First Avenue, Pie Allen, West University, and Iron Horse.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Arizona reading, check out:
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Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Tucson For 2025
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairgrounds | 87 |
| 2 | Santa Cruz Southwest | 86 |
| 3 | Bravo Park Lane | 90 |
| 4 | El Rio Acres | 88 |
| 5 | Country Glenn | 87 |
| 6 | Barrio Centro | 92 |
| 7 | Parkway Terrace | 92 |
| 8 | A Mountain | 93 |
| 9 | Las Vistas | 90 |
| 10 | San Ignacio Yaqui | 85 |
| 11 | Westside Development | 92 |
| 12 | Mitman | 97 |
| 13 | Arroyo Chico | 89 |
| 14 | Silvercroft | 89 |
| 15 | Julia Keen | 84 |
| 16 | Cherry Avenue | 86 |
| 17 | Flowing Wells | 88 |
| 18 | Mortimore | 93 |
| 19 | Rillito | 100 |
| 20 | Myers | 83 |
| 21 | Rose | 84 |
| 22 | Dietz | 89 |
| 23 | El Cortez | 91 |
| 24 | Ironwood Ridge | 100 |
| 25 | Corbett | 90 |
| 26 | Broadway-Northeast | 103 |
| 27 | El Presidio | 87 |
| 28 | Rancho Buena | 89 |
| 29 | Harlan Heights | 96 |
| 30 | Doolen-Fruitvale | 90 |
| 31 | Elvira | 90 |
| 32 | Barrio Blue Moon | 88 |
| 33 | Sunnyside | 89 |
| 34 | Rita Ranch | 106 |
| 35 | Highland Vista Cinco Via | 101 |
| 36 | Naylor | 88 |
| 37 | Midvale Park | 92 |
| 38 | Groves Lincoln Park | 93 |
| 39 | Harrison East-South | 102 |
| 40 | Wakefield | 87 |
| 41 | Wilshire Heights | 101 |
| 42 | Terra Del Sol | 89 |
| 43 | South Harrison | 99 |
| 44 | Colonia Del Valle | 97 |
| 45 | La Madera | 98 |
| 46 | Barrio Anita | 94 |
| 47 | Thunderbird Heights-Wilmot Desert | 96 |
| 48 | Rosemont East | 107 |
| 49 | El Conquistador | 122 |
| 50 | Toumey Park | 93 |
| 51 | Miracle Manor | 86 |
| 52 | El Montevideo | 128 |
| 53 | Midtown | 92 |
| 54 | Desert Palms Park | 109 |
| 55 | Saint Cyrils | 90 |
| 56 | Menlo Park | 95 |
| 57 | Keeling | 89 |
| 58 | Drexel Park | 84 |
| 59 | Rosemont West | 100 |
| 60 | Sunset Villa | 91 |
| 61 | Stella Mann | 92 |
| 62 | Lakeside Park | 95 |
| 63 | Western Hills | 91 |
| 64 | Eastside | 109 |
| 65 | Poets Square | 101 |
| 66 | Enchanted Hills | 92 |
| 67 | Mesquite Ranch | 112 |
| 68 | Campbell-Grant | 101 |
| 69 | Cabrini | 93 |
| 70 | South Park | 89 |
| 71 | Peter Howell | 98 |
| 72 | Dodge Flower | 86 |
| 73 | Swan Way Park | 88 |
| 74 | Civano | 112 |
| 75 | Roberts | 86 |
| 76 | Santa Rita Park | 90 |
| 77 | Barrio Santa Rosa | 95 |
| 78 | Blenman-Elm | 114 |
| 79 | Broadmoor-Broadway | 112 |
| 80 | San Gabriel | 96 |
| 81 | Alvernon Heights | 84 |
| 82 | Mountain View | 97 |
| 83 | Palo Verde | 96 |
| 84 | Starr Pass | 102 |
| 85 | Prince Tucson | 100 |
| 86 | Amphi | 88 |
| 87 | Hedrick Acres | 98 |
| 88 | Balboa Heights | 87 |
| 89 | Desert Aire-Loma Linda | 89 |
| 90 | Campus Farm | 93 |
| 91 | Barrio Viejo | 104 |
| 92 | El Gheko | 103 |
| 93 | Barrio Hollywood | 92 |
| 94 | Miles East West | 88 |
| 95 | Northwest | 98 |
| 96 | Bear Canyon | 118 |
| 97 | San Clemente | 98 |
| 98 | Richland Heights West | 102 |
| 99 | Old Fort Lowell | 103 |
| 100 | North Dodge | 85 |
| 101 | Houghton | 116 |
| 102 | Limberlost | 92 |
| 103 | Vista Del Monte | 95 |
| 104 | Avondale | 86 |
| 105 | Rincon Heights | 93 |
| 106 | Sam Hughes | 117 |
| 107 | Ocotillo Oracle | 96 |
| 108 | Oak Flower | 91 |
| 109 | Armory Park | 107 |
| 110 | Dunbar Spring | 100 |
| 111 | Barrio San Antonio | 102 |
| 112 | Udall Park | 103 |
| 113 | Miramonte | 96 |
| 114 | Sewell | 109 |
| 115 | Tucson Park West | 98 |
| 116 | Shaheen Estates | 103 |
| 117 | Millville | 102 |
| 118 | Samos | 103 |
| 119 | Glenn Heights | 101 |
| 120 | Feldman’s | 99 |
| 121 | Jefferson Park | 95 |
| 122 | Catalina Vista-Blenman-Elm | 117 |
| 123 | Richland Heights East | 101 |
| 124 | Iron Horse | 108 |
| 125 | West University | 106 |
| 126 | Pie Allen | 101 |
| 127 | Mountain First Avenue | 102 |
| 128 | North University | 108 |

