Arizona cities

The best places to live in Arizona

Arizona's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Chandler 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
1 Chandler $351,600 $1,481 66 78
2 Mesa $269,400 $1,196 68 77
3 Tempe $321,300 $1,345 64 77
4 Scottsdale $540,000 $1,578 61 77
5 Glendale $252,200 $1,138 67 76
6 Phoenix $277,700 $1,175 65 75
7 Tucson $177,800 $907 70 74
8 Gilbert $377,800 $1,662 59 69
13 Peoria $314,000 $1,414 54 63
17 Surprise $282,300 $1,627 48 57

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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.