Like all states, Arizona has certain places that are going on hard times. These Arizona places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Arizona.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 56 cities in Arizona with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Arizona For 2025:
What’s the poorest city in Arizona? According to the facts, Douglas is the poorest place in Arizona for 2025.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Arizona
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arizona
- Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Arizona For 2025
1. Douglas
/10
Population: 16,118
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $39,350 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.2% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 4,870
More on Douglas: Data
Douglas, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Arizona thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 16,118 people averages the lowest median household income in Arizona and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Nogales
/10
Population: 19,753
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $40,745 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.1% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 5,163
More on Nogales: Data
The second poorest city in Arizona is Nogales.
The city ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 2nd highest in the Grand Canyon State.
3. Winslow
/10
Population: 8,831
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $53,114 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.6% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 2,528
More on Winslow: Data
Placing as the third poorest city, Winslow’s median income ranks as the 6th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 28.63% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Grand Canyon State.
4. Tolleson
/10
Population: 7,233
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $55,015 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.8% (highest)
People In Poverty: 2,224
More on Tolleson: Data
Tolleson ranks as the fourth poorest place in Arizona.
The town ranks as having the 9th lowest median household income and the highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Bullhead City
/10
Population: 42,193
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Median Income: $47,717 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.4% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 8,594
More on Bullhead City: Data
The fifth poorest city in Arizona is Bullhead City.
The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 10th highest in Arizona.
Still not the best news for Bullhead City.
6. Eloy
/10
Population: 16,671
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 6)
Median Income: $54,080 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.3% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,549
More on Eloy: Data
Eloy ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Grand Canyon State.
It ranks as having the 9th highest incidence of poverty and the 19th highest unemployment rate.
7. Coolidge
/10
Population: 15,300
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Median Income: $57,161 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.2% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,392
More on Coolidge: Data
Coolidge places as the seventh poorest city in Arizona.
The city of over 15,300 ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Cottonwood
/10
Population: 12,547
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $47,162 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.5% (14th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,200
More on Cottonwood: Data
Cottonwood ranks as the eighth poorest city in Arizona.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. San Luis
/10
Population: 35,998
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Median Income: $57,364 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.9% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 7,865
More on San Luis: Data
San Luis couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Arizona; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 11th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, San Luis ranks as having the 7th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Arizona.
10. Guadalupe
/10
Population: 5,293
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $58,507 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.3% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,181
More on Guadalupe: Data
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Arizona is Guadalupe.
The city of 5,293 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Grand Canyon State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Arizona for 2025
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2019-2023 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 56 places with more than 5,000 people in Arizona, we ranked each place from 1 to 56 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Douglas, crowned the “Poorest Place In Arizona For 2025”.
This report has been updated for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Arizona.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Arizona For 2025
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Arizona, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Arizona.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Arizona, according to data:
-
Richest: Queen Creek
2nd Richest: Paradise Valley
3rd Richest: Litchfield Park
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Arizona
- Safest Places In Arizona
- Worst Places To Live In Arizona
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Arizona
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Arizona
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas | 16,118 | 30.2% | $39,350 | 4,870 |
| 2 | Nogales | 19,753 | 26.1% | $40,745 | 5,163 |
| 3 | Winslow | 8,831 | 28.6% | $53,114 | 2,528 |
| 4 | Tolleson | 7,233 | 30.8% | $55,015 | 2,224 |
| 5 | Bullhead City | 42,193 | 20.4% | $47,717 | 8,594 |
| 6 | Eloy | 16,671 | 21.3% | $54,080 | 3,549 |
| 7 | Coolidge | 15,300 | 22.2% | $57,161 | 3,392 |
| 8 | Cottonwood | 12,547 | 17.5% | $47,162 | 2,200 |
| 9 | San Luis | 35,998 | 21.9% | $57,364 | 7,865 |
| 10 | Guadalupe | 5,293 | 22.3% | $58,507 | 1,181 |
| 11 | Tucson | 543,348 | 18.8% | $54,546 | 102,312 |
| 12 | Camp Verde | 12,282 | 21.7% | $58,383 | 2,662 |
| 13 | Benson | 5,331 | 14.2% | $48,854 | 756 |
| 14 | Wickenburg | 7,468 | 16.4% | $65,253 | 1,222 |
| 15 | Yuma | 98,461 | 15.3% | $62,546 | 15,094 |
| 16 | Flagstaff | 76,333 | 19.4% | $68,041 | 14,778 |
| 17 | Globe | 7,230 | 18.3% | $66,545 | 1,321 |
| 18 | Kingman | 33,850 | 14.1% | $60,418 | 4,769 |
| 19 | Casa Grande | 57,590 | 14.1% | $66,354 | 8,131 |
| 20 | Glendale | 250,193 | 16.2% | $70,139 | 40,506 |
| 21 | Chino Valley | 13,372 | 11.8% | $59,733 | 1,583 |
| 22 | Lake Havasu City | 58,037 | 13.9% | $66,264 | 8,090 |
| 23 | Apache Junction | 39,746 | 11.0% | $58,619 | 4,368 |
| 24 | Safford | 10,217 | 13.3% | $65,727 | 1,359 |
| 25 | Snowflake | 6,349 | 15.7% | $72,753 | 994 |
| 26 | Sedona | 9,770 | 13.7% | $67,374 | 1,337 |
| 27 | Somerton | 14,383 | 15.1% | $71,825 | 2,174 |
| 28 | Show Low | 11,913 | 11.0% | $63,376 | 1,308 |
| 29 | Tempe | 186,419 | 16.2% | $77,643 | 30,162 |
| 30 | Phoenix | 1,624,832 | 14.3% | $77,041 | 231,863 |
| 31 | Prescott Valley | 48,048 | 12.3% | $70,793 | 5,933 |
| 32 | Prescott | 46,744 | 11.6% | $69,151 | 5,403 |
| 33 | El Mirage | 35,823 | 13.5% | $74,764 | 4,850 |
| 34 | Payson | 16,494 | 8.3% | $65,175 | 1,362 |
| 35 | Youn | 6,985 | 10.9% | $68,472 | 762 |
| 36 | Sierra Vista | 45,203 | 10.9% | $69,783 | 4,918 |
| 37 | Thatcher | 5,354 | 12.3% | $77,455 | 656 |
| 38 | Page | 7,407 | 11.2% | $88,452 | 831 |
| 39 | Avondale | 90,644 | 10.9% | $81,260 | 9,880 |
| 40 | Mesa | 507,478 | 10.5% | $78,779 | 53,285 |
| 41 | Florence | 25,961 | 7.4% | $76,259 | 1,931 |
| 42 | Peoria | 194,338 | 8.4% | $93,403 | 16,343 |
| 43 | Surprise | 149,519 | 7.8% | $93,371 | 11,647 |
| 44 | Cave Creek | 5,033 | 8.9% | $102,589 | 447 |
| 45 | Sahuarita | 35,012 | 8.4% | $100,719 | 2,937 |
| 46 | Maricopa | 62,986 | 6.8% | $94,208 | 4,251 |
| 47 | Chandler | 278,123 | 7.7% | $103,691 | 21,332 |
| 48 | Goodyear | 102,891 | 5.8% | $101,814 | 5,947 |
| 49 | Fountain Hills | 23,768 | 6.5% | $104,788 | 1,544 |
| 50 | Scottsdale | 242,169 | 7.1% | $107,372 | 17,266 |
| 51 | Oro Valley | 47,595 | 6.3% | $105,342 | 2,988 |
| 52 | Marana | 54,487 | 5.5% | $108,256 | 2,969 |
| 53 | Gilbert | 271,118 | 5.1% | $121,351 | 13,908 |
| 54 | Litchfield Park | 6,871 | 4.0% | $124,973 | 274 |
| 55 | Paradise Valley | 12,621 | 5.0% | $236,250 | 632 |
| 56 | Queen Creek | 66,369 | 3.6% | $134,719 | 2,362 |