The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Grand Canyon State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Arizona have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Arizona is the 43rd smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 97.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Arizona are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
#1 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Yuma County, Arizona
San Luis is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population was 25,505 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. San Luis, located in the southwest corner of the state directly adjacent to Mexico’s Federal Highway 2, was the second fastest-growing city or town in Arizona from 1990 to 2000. According to 2014 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 31,091.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Yuma County, Arizona
Somerton is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States.
Somerton has an annual Tamale Festival that benefits students from the area who will be attending Arizona State University. More than 20,000 visitors attend the festival each year. The festival is put together by The El Diablito Arizona State University Alumni chapter.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Tolleson is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 6,545.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Pinal County, Arizona
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Cochise County, Arizona
Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running San Bernardino Valley within which runs the Rio San Bernardino. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Navajo County, Arizona
Winslow is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 9,655.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,407 in 2014. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson-Nogales combined statistical area, with a total population of 1,027,683 as of the 2010 Census. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 dumbest in Arizona
Located in
Pinal County, Arizona
Florence is a town, 61 miles southeast of Phoenix, in Pinal County of Arizona, United States. Florence, which is the county seat of Pinal County, is one of the oldest towns in that county and is regarded as a National Historic District with over 25 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The population of Florence was 30,770 at the 2015 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Arizona’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Arizona’s dumbest cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Grand Canyon State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Arizona:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Arizona from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Arizona city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Arizona.
The full plate
Dumbest Cities In Arizona For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Luis | 37,337 | 41.0% | 10.0% |
| 2 | Somerton | 14,574 | 38.0% | 12.0% |
| 3 | Guadalupe | 5,272 | 24.0% | 10.0% |
| 4 | Tolleson | 7,668 | 38.0% | 13.0% |
| 5 | Eloy | 17,433 | 25.0% | 12.0% |
| 6 | Douglas | 15,981 | 24.0% | 12.0% |
| 7 | Winslow | 8,773 | 16.0% | 11.0% |
| 8 | Nogales | 19,841 | 31.0% | 18.0% |
| 9 | El Mirage | 36,088 | 18.0% | 16.0% |
| 10 | Florence | 25,570 | 16.0% | 17.0% |
| 11 | Coolidge | 16,636 | 13.0% | 14.0% |
| 12 | Yuma | 100,139 | 16.0% | 20.0% |
| 13 | Globe | 7,195 | 13.0% | 18.0% |
| 14 | Apache Junction | 41,058 | 13.0% | 18.0% |
| 15 | Camp Verde | 12,521 | 13.0% | 20.0% |
| 16 | Glendale | 252,833 | 16.0% | 24.0% |
| 17 | Safford | 10,239 | 11.0% | 18.0% |
| 18 | Avondale | 92,477 | 13.0% | 22.0% |
| 19 | Thatcher | 5,439 | 11.0% | 21.0% |
| 20 | Kingman | 34,375 | 10.0% | 20.0% |
| 21 | Benson | 5,417 | 13.0% | 25.0% |
| 22 | Casa Grande | 60,905 | 10.0% | 21.0% |
| 23 | Chino Valley | 13,602 | 11.0% | 24.0% |
| 24 | Phoenix | 1,642,323 | 15.0% | 33.0% |
| 25 | Cottonwood | 12,580 | 11.0% | 27.0% |
| 26 | Prescott Valley | 49,179 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 27 | Tucson | 547,073 | 12.0% | 31.0% |
| 28 | Payson | 16,622 | 8.0% | 24.0% |
| 29 | Maricopa | 67,163 | 8.0% | 24.0% |
| 30 | Snowflake | 6,444 | 9.0% | 29.0% |
| 31 | Page | 7,345 | 7.0% | 28.0% |
| 32 | Mesa | 511,764 | 9.0% | 32.0% |
| 33 | Peoria | 196,906 | 9.0% | 36.0% |
| 34 | Surprise | 154,948 | 5.0% | 31.0% |
| 35 | Goodyear | 107,645 | 7.0% | 35.0% |
| 36 | Sierra Vista | 45,155 | 5.0% | 35.0% |
| 37 | Wickenburg | 8,059 | 4.0% | 35.0% |
| 38 | Chandler | 280,136 | 6.0% | 48.0% |
| 39 | Show Low | 12,102 | 4.0% | 36.0% |
| 40 | Sedona | 9,777 | 6.0% | 50.0% |
| 41 | Litchfield Park | 6,916 | 4.0% | 45.0% |
| 42 | Prescott | 47,400 | 4.0% | 40.0% |
| 43 | Tempe | 188,065 | 5.0% | 50.0% |
| 44 | Marana | 56,938 | 4.0% | 48.0% |
| 45 | Gilbert | 280,262 | 4.0% | 48.0% |
| 46 | Queen Creek | 71,867 | 3.0% | 45.0% |
| 47 | Sahuarita | 35,862 | 3.0% | 45.0% |
| 48 | Flagstaff | 76,445 | 4.0% | 52.0% |
| 49 | Fountain Hills | 23,789 | 3.0% | 50.0% |
| 50 | Oro Valley | 48,162 | 3.0% | 57.0% |
| 51 | Cave Creek | 5,091 | 1.0% | 53.0% |
| 52 | Scottsdale | 243,821 | 2.0% | 62.0% |
| 53 | Paradise Valley | 12,611 | 2.0% | 74.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 53 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Arizona where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Arizona are San Luis, Somerton, Guadalupe, Tolleson, Eloy, Douglas, Winslow, Nogales, El Mirage, and Florence. Not sold on Arizona? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Dumbest Places In Arizona FAQs
What is the dumbest city in Arizona?
San Luis is the dumbest place in Arizona for 2026, going purely by adult educational attainment. Somerton and Guadalupe are next.
What are the dumbest places in Arizona?
The dumbest places in Arizona are San Luis, Somerton, Guadalupe, Tolleson, Eloy, Douglas, Winslow, Nogales, El Mirage, and Florence. We ranked all 53 cities with more than 5,000 residents on adult high-school-dropout and college-degree shares.
Is Arizona a smart state?
Arizona ranks as the 43rd smartest state in the country, with an average IQ of 97. City by city, though, the attainment numbers swing a lot — which is what this ranking maps.
What is the smartest place in Arizona?
Paradise Valley is the smartest place in Arizona by this measure, with the best educational attainment numbers of the 53 cities we ranked.
Does this actually measure how smart people are?
No — it measures schooling, not smarts. The ranking counts adults without a high school diploma and adults with a college degree, straight from Census American Community Survey data, and diplomas are not the same thing as intelligence.
