State rental market analysis · AZ
Arizona rental markets
42 tracked cities over 20,000 population, 32 ranked and summarized by their median Overall. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. All states ranked →
Browse every Arizona ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the Mountain Census division (West region).
The honest read
Arizona ranks #6 of 51 states for rental investing, with a median Overall of 56.3/100 across its ranked cities, above the national median. 32 ranked cities roll up into this grade.
A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 32 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 4.7% | not measured |
| Rent growth | Growth | 2.7% | not measured |
| Home value growth | Growth | 3.2% | not measured |
| Population growth | Growth | 1.4% | not measured |
| Job growth | Growth | 2.4% | not measured |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 5.5× | not measured |
| Unemployment | Stability | 3.6% | not measured |
| Rental demand | Stability | 37% renters · 545.0% vacancy | not measured |
| Income growth | Growth | 6.7% | not measured |
Every city in Arizona, ranked
Led by Buckeye at 82/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| AZ rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buckeye | 82 | A | A | B | $394,709 | 6.1% | #3 |
| 2 | El Mirage | 74 | B | B | B | $341,412 | 6.8% | #22 |
| 3 | Kingman | 72 | B | B | B | $275,989 | 6.2% | #39 |
| 4 | Maricopa | 70 | A | A | C | $344,261 | 6.2% | #65 |
| 5 | Apache Junction | 68 | C | B | B | $374,285 | 5.7% | #88 |
| 6 med | San Luis | 66 | C | B | B | $237,608 | 4.5% | #124 |
| 7 | Avondale | 66 | B | B | C | $397,001 | 5.2% | #140 |
| 8 | Florence | 65 | B | C | B | $331,009 | 6.3% | #158 |
| 9 | Prescott Valley | 65 | C | A | B | $458,374 | 4.7% | #160 |
| 10 | Marana | 63 | B | B | C | $419,848 | 6.4% | #193 |
| 11 | Gilbert | 63 | C | B | B | $570,915 | 4.3% | #215 |
| 12 | Surprise | 63 | B | A | C | $419,342 | 5.5% | #220 |
| 13 | Sahuarita | 61 | A | B | D | $352,075 | 6.6% | #294 |
| 14 | Phoenix | 59 | C | B | B | $408,770 | 4.6% | #334 |
| 15 | Casa Grande | 58 | B | B | D | $318,524 | 6.5% | #381 |
| 16 | Chandler | 57 | C | B | C | $520,582 | 4.4% | #420 |
| 17 | Queen Creek | 56 | C | B | C | $630,977 | 4.1% | #451 |
| 18 | Bullhead City | 55 | C | C | C | $301,328 | 5.4% | #507 |
| 19 | Mesa | 55 | C | B | C | $433,754 | 4.3% | #528 |
| 20 | Goodyear | 55 | C | B | C | $466,318 | 4.4% | #541 |
| 21 | Glendale | 54 | C | B | C | $405,789 | 4.5% | #571 |
| 22 | Yuma | 53 | B | B | D | $296,776 | 6.0% | #602 |
| 23 | Peoria | 53 | C | B | C | $484,842 | 4.6% | #627 |
| 24 | Tempe | 51 | D | B | C | $465,636 | 4.3% | #724 |
| 25 | Lake Havasu City | 49 | D | B | C | $464,325 | 4.4% | #807 |
| 26 | Tucson | 47 | C | C | C | $323,949 | 5.3% | #916 |
| 27 | Prescott | 46 | D | B | B | $599,791 | 3.7% | #975 |
| 28 | Oro Valley | 45 | D | C | C | $502,929 | 4.2% | #1019 |
| 29 | Sierra Vista | 41 | B | D | C | $301,950 | 5.6% | #1216 |
| 30 | Fountain Hills | 38 | D | C | C | $662,184 | 4.2% | #1352 |
| 31 | Flagstaff | 38 | D | C | C | $661,291 | 4.0% | #1359 |
| 32 | Scottsdale | 35 | F | B | C | $854,394 | 3.0% | #1480 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2019–2023 · Census PEP July 2024 · BLS LAUS county 2023 annual. Generated 2026-09-01. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
Limited-data cities in Arizona
These 10 cities lack enough measured factors to rank, so they are excluded from the state grade; their pages show exactly what could be measured.
ZIP markets in Arizona
417 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in Arizona · 269 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the Arizona city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a newer release than the ACS 2019–2023 figures the city table above uses; the same measure can legitimately disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in Arizona
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical AZ state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the Arizona city table and not directly comparable to it.
| AZ rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 85143San Tan Valley | A 78#12 nat | 6.4%Survey yield |
| #2 | 85037Phoenix | A 77#15 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| #3 | 85379Surprise | A 77#18 nat | 5.6%Survey yield |
| #4 | 85335El Mirage | A 77#22 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |
| #5 | 85326Buckeye | A 77#25 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| #6 | 85296Gilbert | A 76#30 nat | 4.8%Survey yield |
| #7 | 85226Chandler | A 76#32 nat | 4.7%Survey yield |
| #8 | 85225Chandler | A 76#36 nat | 4.8%Survey yield |
| #9 | 85353Phoenix | A 75#57 nat | 5.5%Survey yield |
| #10 | 85043Phoenix | A 75#63 nat | 5.9%Survey yield |
| #11 | 85041Phoenix | A 75#73 nat | 6.0%Survey yield |
| #12 | 85138Maricopa | A 75#78 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in Arizona
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 86033Chilchinbito | 100#1 nat | 20.4%Survey yield |
| 2 | 86045Tuba City | 100#1 nat | 15.0%Survey yield |
| 3 | 86502Wide Ruins | 100#1 nat | 22.3%Survey yield |
| 4 | 86514Teec Nos Pos | 100#1 nat | 15.2%Survey yield |
| 5 | 86520Low Mountain | 100#1 nat | 15.4%Survey yield |
| 6 | 86538Many Farms | 100#1 nat | 24.2%Survey yield |
| 7 | 86031Whitecone | 99#17 nat | 13.0%Survey yield |
| 8 | 86044Navajo Mountain | 99#17 nat | 14.6%Survey yield |
| 9 | 87328Crystal | 98#31 nat | 12.3%Survey yield |
| 10 | 86545Rock Point | 98#36 nat | 12.1%Survey yield |
| 11 | 86054Shonto | 97#55 nat | 11.2%Survey yield |
| 12 | 86512Sanders | 97#59 nat | 9.8%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in Arizona
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 87328Crystal | 83#76 nat | 12.3%Survey yield |
| 2 | 85172Stanfield | 82#109 nat | 7.1%Survey yield |
| 3 | 85003Phoenix | 82#118 nat | 2.7%Survey yield |
| 4 | 85012Phoenix | 81#134 nat | 2.9%Survey yield |
| 5 | 86434Grand Canyon West | 81#153 nat | 7.7%Survey yield |
| 6 | 86034Whitecone | 79#339 nat | 9.3%Survey yield |
| 7 | 85004Phoenix | 77#634 nat | 5.3%Survey yield |
| 8 | 85550San Carlos | 77#662 nat | 9.8%Survey yield |
| 9 | 85701Tucson | 77#680 nat | 3.1%Survey yield |
| 10 | 85336San Luis | 76#803 nat | 4.0%Survey yield |
| 11 | 85009Phoenix | 75#945 nat | 6.1%Survey yield |
| 12 | 86025Holbrook | 74#1,028 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |