Arizona cities

The best places to live in Arizona

Arizona's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Anthem leads the list.

We scored Arizona's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
3 Gilbert $377,800 $1,662 73 78
11 Chandler $351,600 $1,481 54 66
14 Peoria $314,000 $1,414 59 64
17 Surprise $282,300 $1,627 63 61
29 Scottsdale $540,000 $1,578 36 44
31 Phoenix $277,700 $1,175 38 43
32 Mesa $269,400 $1,196 38 42
39 Glendale $252,200 $1,138 27 33
48 Tempe $321,300 $1,345 18 20
49 Tucson $177,800 $907 24 14

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Arizona. Updated 2026.