If you’ve ever been to Arizona, you know it’s a beautiful place. The desert landscapes are some of the prettiest places in the country, and the mountain areas have some of the best outdoor activities in the entire southwest.
But is it all great in the Copper State? Of course not. Just like every other state, Arizona has its trouble spots. The purpose of this post is to use science and data to determine which cities in Arizona are the least desirable to live in.
Of course, you’ll most likely disagree if you see your town atop this list. But nonetheless, according to science, these cities are the worst places you could possibly live if you make Arizona your home. These places need a big hug right about now.
After analyzing 54 of the state’s most populous cities (over 5,000 people), we came up with this list as the 10 worst places to live in Arizona:
- South Tucson (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Eloy (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Winslow (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Coolidge (Photos | Rent To Own)
- San Luis (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Guadalupe (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Tolleson (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Tucson (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Nogales (Photos | Rent To Own)
- Cottonwood (Photos | Rent To Own)
What? Where are these places you wonder? And before you get all riled up and say we’re picking on small town America, that’s not the case. We understand there’s a lot of good in every place.
However, according to data (which doesn’t measure things like beauty and ‘friendly people’), there are far better options in the state for making a place home. Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and see how your city fared in 2018.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Arizona
- 10 Best Cities For Singles In Arizona
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Arizona
How we determined the worst places to live in Arizona for 2018
To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities have the least amount of those things.
We don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that people like the following things:
- Good education
- Lots of jobs
- Low crime
- Low poverty
- Nice homes
- High incomes
- High population density (Lots of things to do)
- Short work commutes
- Health insurance
The data comes from the Census’s most recent American Community Survey and from the FBI Uniform Crime Report.
We broke crime down into violent crime and property crime to give violent crime a larger weight — if you did a simple calculation of all crimes per capita, property crimes are normally 7x more common and really bias that ranking.
Furthermore, only cities with at least 5,000 people were considered — leaving 54 cities.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 54 for all the criteria with a #1 ranking being the worst for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the rankings into one ‘Worst Place To Live Score’.
Finally, we ranked every city on the ‘Worst Place To Live Score’ with the lowest score being the worst city in Arizona — South Tucson. Read on for a detailed look at the 10 worst cities in Arizona.
This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.
1. South Tucson
Population: 5,627Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Values: $74,100 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 20.9% (1st worst)
More on South Tucson: Data | Jobs | Photos
Welcome to South Tucson, where criminals go to make a living. South Tucson has the 7th highest crime rate in the state. When you’re within South Tucson city limits, you have a 1 in 16.9 chance of being the victim of a property crime such as a car break in or home invasion robbery every year.
Plus, there were 45 violent crimes here in 2015. For a city of 5,627 people, that’s absolutely off the charts high. You have a 1 in 124 chance of being raped, attacked or killed when you’re in South Tucson every year as well.
2. Eloy
Population: 17,128Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Values: $73,300 (1st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.9% (10th worst)
More on Eloy: Data | Jobs | Photos
Eloy, along I-10 south of Chandler, is also a hot mess right now. There are some big economic problems here AND crime is really high. In fact, Eloy is the 32nd most dangerous place you can live in Arizona.
Residents in Eloy have a 1 in 37.2 chance of being the victim of a property crime. That’s a lot of stolen laptops, cell phones and sunglasses.
When you’re considering home prices, you can’t do much lower than in Eloy, where average homes are valued at only$73,300. That’s the 1st-lowest in the state. But residents earn far less than in other cities, so their mortgage payments might still seem overwhelming.
3. Winslow
Population: 9,539Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Home Values: $81,500 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 16.8% (3rd worst)
More on Winslow: Data | Jobs | Photos
You can’t blame them for living in Winslow since it’s really beautiful, but there are sacrifices you make to live in the boonies. One of them is income.
Not only is the unemployment rate the 3rd highest in the state here (16.8%), the residents in Winslow earn the smallest household income in the state of Arizona. At a combined income of $34,239, families of four are barely above the poverty line.
In addition, the crime here is really high for a small city in Arizona. Winslow has the 2nd highest crime rate in the state.
4. Coolidge
Population: 12,073Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Home Values: $82,600 (6th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 13.1% (5th worst)
More on Coolidge: Data | Jobs | Photos
Coolidge is only a half hour drive south of the outskirts of Chandler and ranks as the 4th worst city on this list. However, there are some major differences in the quality of life between the two.
Coolidge has the 17th highest crime rate in Arizona, where residents have a 1 in 20.2 chance of being robbed every year. Homes are the 6th cheapest in the state ($82,600), and the uninsured rate here is far below average as well.
5. San Luis
Population: 31,118Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Home Values: $112,100 (9th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.2% (2nd worst)
There are some bad places to live and some really, really bad places to live. According to the data, San Luis is one of the worst places you can live in Arizona. And quite possibly, one of the worst places you can live in, period. Let’s see why.
We’re not economists, but when you have a 17.2% unemployment rate for a city of 31,118 people, that’s a sign that things aren’t just bad. They are downright depressing. That’s by far the highest unemployment rate of any city we’ve analyzed.
Not only that, but the public school system is completely underfunded in San Luis. The students get the least amount of spending in the entire state, and at $7,000 each per year, that’s about half the national average.
The city has a prison in town, and it sits right next to the Mexican border. Crime is above average here, and perhaps the only reason crime isn’t higher is that there are most likely lots of border patrol agents in the area.
6. Guadalupe
Population: 6,172Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Home Values: $82,200 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 15.4% (4th worst)
More on Guadalupe: Data | Jobs | Photos
When you’re looking at science and data, Guadalupe is the 6th worst place you can live in the state of Arizona. Let’s see why.
First off, the crime here is really high, in comparison to the rest of Arizona. Guadalupe is the 10th most dangerous place you can live in the state, where you have a 1 in 18.3 chance of being the victim of some type of property crime. Meaning lots of people are getting robbed here.
Homes here average $82,200, which is the 5th lowest in the state. You can defend ‘cheap living’ all you want, but the fact is, homes are priced by demand, and there’s not a lot of demand to live in Guadalupe.
Income levels are just about $30,326, the 4th lowest in Arizona.
When you add it all up, Guadalupe really is quite an undesirable place to live. The people who have to live in here could use a big hug right about now.
7. Tolleson
Population: 6,985Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Home Values: $154,500 (25th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.0% (33rd worst)
More on Tolleson: Data | Jobs | Photos
Tucson ranks as the 7th worst city on this list.
Tucson has the 6th highest crime rate in Arizona, where residents have a 1 in 16.9 chance of being robbed every year. Homes are the 19th cheapest in the state ($132,200), and the uninsured rate here is far below average as well.
8. Tucson
Population: 527,586Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Home Values: $132,200 (19th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (15th worst)
More on Tucson: Data | Jobs | Photos
Tolleson, part of Maricopa County, is the 8th worst place to live in Arizona for 2015.
Residents here earn almost the lowest salaries per year relative to any other residents in the state at $39,714, and crime 10th worst in Arizona.
Additionally, the poverty level is 23.9% in Tolleson.
9. Nogales
Population: 20,355Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 7)
Home Values: $114,600 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.4% (9th worst)
More on Nogales: Data | Jobs | Photos
Nogales is a little better off, but not by much.
The U.S. poverty line is $25,000 for a family of four. In Nogales, household incomes hover at just over $27,929. Which means most of Nogales is having trouble making ends meet. Especially when the unemployment rate is 12.4%.
Homes are very cheap here, and the public schools are just about as underfunded as those in San Luis. Nogales also sits on the Mexican border.
It’s beginning to look like Arizona is really the super rich, the middle class and the destitute.
10. Cottonwood
Population: 11,598Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 4)
Home Values: $135,000 (20th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (21st worst)
More on Cottonwood: Data | Jobs | Photos
While numbers in Arizona are clearly better when you compare them to the rest of the nation, the fact is when you compare Arizona cities against one another, you see big differences.
Home values in Cottonwood average $135,000, which is the 20th lowest in the state. Say what you want about ‘cheap living,’ the fact is homes are priced by demand, and there’s not a lot of demand to live in Cottonwood.
Plus, 2150.0% of the population here lives below the poverty line.
Plus, the crime rate is the 20th highest in the state here. Every year, when you’re within Cottonwood city limits, you have a 1 in 23.4 chance of being robbed. That’s a lot of broken into cars and homes.
Wrapping Up The Worst In Arizona
If you’re looking at areas in Arizona with the worst economic situations, where there’s higher than average crime, and not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
And in the end, South Tucson ranks as the worst city to live in Arizona for 2018.
If you’re curious enough, here are the best cities to live in Arizona:
- Paradise Valley (Pop. 13,833)
- Scottsdale (Pop. 234,495)
- Gilbert (Pop. 226,832)
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Arizona
- 10 Best Cities For Singles In Arizona
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Arizona
Detailed List Of The Worst Cities In Arizona
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Tucson | 5,627 |
| 2 | Eloy | 17,128 |
| 3 | Winslow | 9,539 |
| 4 | Coolidge | 12,073 |
| 5 | San Luis | 31,118 |
| 6 | Guadalupe | 6,172 |
| 7 | Tolleson | 6,985 |
| 8 | Tucson | 527,586 |
| 9 | Nogales | 20,355 |
| 10 | Cottonwood | 11,598 |
| 11 | Camp Verde | 11,096 |
| 12 | Bisbee | 5,330 |
| 13 | Somerton | 14,866 |
| 14 | Globe | 7,369 |
| 15 | Apache Junction | 37,775 |
| 16 | Snowflake | 5,643 |
| 17 | Douglas | 16,764 |
| 18 | Casa Grande | 51,571 |
| 19 | Page | 7,532 |
| 20 | Glendale | 239,943 |
| 21 | Phoenix | 1,555,324 |
| 22 | Holbrook | 5,011 |
| 23 | El Mirage | 33,937 |
| 24 | Kingman | 28,586 |
| 25 | Yuma | 93,704 |
| 26 | Chino Valley | 11,015 |
| 27 | Avondale | 80,631 |
| 28 | Florence | 26,221 |
| 29 | Show Low | 10,875 |
| 30 | Cave Creek | 5,275 |
| 31 | Safford | 9,616 |
| 32 | Payson | 15,297 |
| 33 | Sedona | 10,209 |
| 34 | Prescott Valley | 41,070 |
| 35 | Wickenburg | 6,766 |
| 36 | Flagstaff | 69,270 |
| 37 | Mesa | 470,456 |
| 38 | Tempe | 174,708 |
| 39 | Goodyear | 72,629 |
| 40 | Sierra Vista | 44,381 |
| 41 | Maricopa | 45,473 |
| 42 | Peoria | 158,677 |
| 43 | Prescott | 41,090 |
| 44 | Surprise | 127,492 |
| 45 | Marana | 40,221 |
| 46 | Queen Creek | 30,849 |
| 47 | Litchfield Park | 5,449 |
| 48 | Fountain Hills | 23,863 |
| 49 | Chandler | 242,131 |
| 50 | Sahuarita | 27,780 |
| 51 | Oro Valley | 42,379 |
| 52 | Gilbert | 226,832 |
| 53 | Scottsdale | 234,495 |
| 54 | Paradise Valley | 13,833 |
See above…..where is Winslow on this list? And I agree, Douglas is a dump.
Why isn’t Somerton on this list? It’s by Yuma and it is definitely worse.
Honestly you should have put Wickenburg on the list. Forget what your study was based on. This town is actually called WICKEDburg. Extremely corrupt police, extremely high drug use, nothing really there for kids. Just a terrible place to live.
Wicken is great for old-fart racist jackholes to sit around and bitch and moan about the “n*ggers and queers women and ‘Mescans ruining the country!” When the depression generation and racist/fascist snowbirds die out, Arizona will be a lot nicer place to live.
I’m totally surprised that Safford didn’t make this list! Being a life long resident of this city I honestly can say it’s one of the worst!!
Yeah, because who needs that pinko education about science and stuff anyway, right? Just send kids to tax dodging welfare mooch “churches” (aka, houses of the deluded)for some ‘Merican brainwashing.
Any time an article starts throwing “school spending” into the mix–I toss. This type of “rating” is crap.
You listed my small AZ town in the worst. I love it here! I am not going to say where but wanted to thank you. Hopefully your negative review will keep others from moving here. Thank you!
Awesome…good idea…
You forgot joseph city. Original mormon town..total shit hole.
Arizona is one of the better states to live in.The weather is the dominate factor.Of course the diversity of the land is an attraction as mountains and desert are combined.
The minus is you pay for the climate by lower wages.This is true of Florida also.
Phoenix was a beautiful town when last I was saw it.Economics has effected most cities.Bus transportation was not abundant when I live in Phoenix so you need private transportation.
It is only about 8 hrs to San Diego from Phoenix?You can go for a swim in the Pacific.
Arizona and Florida are best choices.Both are similar in many ways.Florida has no mountains are desert.
For personal reasons I prefer Arizona.If you don’t like one part of the state you can move to another.
In the winter live in Phoenix.In the summer live in the mountains if you can.
Prescott has the rodeo and is allot cooler than Phoenix in the summer.
A motorbike is a good means of transportation.Of course there are a few cold months.You have to be careful when you ride a motorbike.
Walter Haas—God Bless America
I believe the population data for Winslow includes the prison inmates.
El Mirage AZ is the # 1 speed trap white trash town in all the USA! Their ONLY source of income are traffic cameras operated by overweight ex cops from other loser towns. if you are 2 MPH over their speed traps they send you a $ 234 ticket within 2 days. They are really hard up! Best thing that could ever happen is if their cops all died of overdoses of burritos!
Coolidge and eloy what a dump full of tweekers i know i used to work there!You can not go any where with out a begger asking for money.You go to Safeway you come out you’ll have something missing.Stanfield a dump tweeker town too.Sections of Maricopa getting bad.The south side of Casa Grande a dump. Sections of the west and east side of Casa Grande plenty of tweekers and gangs.Great place to live North West of Casa Grande.Beautiful homes good schools i know i own a home there.All the newer section of NW Casa Grande beautiful place to live .Chandler and Gilbert beautiful place to live i know i own homes there too.But Old Chandler close to Mesa very bad, tweeker town and gangs.
You left out the toxic waste dump of the almost-a-ghost-town of Miami. Once the copper is tapped out here, it will take a hundred years to clean up the toxic crap left by the mines, but no one will want to, so it will just dry up and blow away, become even more haunted than it already is. Checklist: 1) Downwind site, just breathe in that radioactivity like my best friend did and get aplastic thyroid cancer and die, 2) Gateway to the Pinal mountains, site of US Govt spraying of Agnet Orange (yay!) 3) Mines poison everything in the area, hooray! 4) Suspicious number of “outlaw bikers” riding $30,000 bikes around town (Meth houses burning down abound) 5) Ignorant f*cks who support racists and traitors (Don’t worry, they hate everyone who’s not from there, including gays, blacks, women, etc.), Miami, the Original Sh*thole!
You have Tolleson and Tucson mixed up.