Sahuarita, Arizona

Area Profile

35,862 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Sahuarita, in Pima County.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 25% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity3464th of 3,904 published cities35
GrowthTop 14% of 2,973 published cities72
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 4,223 published cities88
Climate3052nd of 4,223 published cities63
Physical resilience3631st of 4,182 published cities20
Access2604th of 4,226 published cities89
Economic stability2836th of 4,226 published cities51
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 5.6% and the Opportunity signal places Sahuarita in the bottom 11%.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 484 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 32% on the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, wildfire and avalanche.

At a glance

Population
35,862
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$104,680
Top 16% nationally
Density
1,132/sq mi
31.7 sq mi of land
Median age
37.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pima County
Arizona
Metro area
Tucson, AZ
Nearest major airport
TUS
13 mi · Tucson Intl
Median home value
$364,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.6% is lower than 12% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 4.8% over the past year, to 13,877 employed residents.

44% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,721$104,680Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,559$42,027Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.6%Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.8 minTop 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher44.0%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment13,877Bottom 11%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.6%Bottom 13%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-4.8%Bottom 2%June 2026
Labor force14,704Bottom 12%June 2026
Labor force participation57.5%Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$63,200Bottom 25%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,760Bottom 21%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)1.3%Top 2%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.6%Top 12%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.62.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.6% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024105k91k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $104,680 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Tucson, AZ
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers12,130$83,610
Retail Salespersons11,100$34,530
Home Health and Personal Care Aides11,030$34,420
Registered Nurses10,120$94,110
Fast Food and Counter Workers9,980$31,690
Cashiers9,610$32,780

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are 18.9 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
Reading proficiency
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Sahuarita High SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)1,21522.1
Anza TrailSahuarita Unified District (4411)1,21018.3
Walden Grove High SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)1,15121.7
Wrightson Ridge K-8 SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)86416.6
Copper View Elementary SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)55719.9
Sahuarita Middle SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)49817.8
Sahuarita Intermediate SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)32417.1
Sahuarita Primary SchoolSahuarita Unified District (4411)30514.5
Great Expectations Academy · charterGreat Expectations Academy (10974)17614.7
PCJTED - Walden Grove High SchoolPima County JTED (89380)2
Pima County at Walden GrovePima County JTED (89380)0
PCJTED - Sahuarita High SchoolPima County JTED (89380)0

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Arizona’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,837 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,837
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$364,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.48Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate81.0%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±52013,682Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$122$1,837Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,662$364,300Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.1%Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.4%Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
72/ 100
Top 14% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 9% since 2020, reaching 37,448 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 13.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
484
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
13.5
Top 8% nationally
Year over year
+32%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202437k34k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
202020212022202320242025578330
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−37%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 100°F and January a low of 41°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 10.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 56, in the Moderate band, and about 12 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TUCSON INTL AP, 13.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index87.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation10.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high100°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 100122024 calendar year
Median air quality index56.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing35°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
56
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
87
90th percentile index
Days above 100
12
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

20 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and avalanche.

WildfireElevated
Inland floodingHigh
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, lightning, earthquake, hail, strong wind, winter weather, drought, landslide, tornado, hurricane, cold wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Pima County records 6.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 36.3 per 100,000 residents in Pima County.

Homicide
6.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
36.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
22.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Pima County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Sahuarita rather than Sahuarita itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 13 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tucson IntlTUS13 mi10,996 ft
Mesa GatewayIWA103 mi10,401 ft
Phoenix Sky Harbor IntlPHX120 mi11,489 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Other cities in Tucson, AZ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
TucsonPima County547,07343vs Sahuarita
Casas AdobesPima County72,059vs Sahuarita
MaranaPima County56,93859vs Sahuarita
Catalina FoothillsPima County52,593vs Sahuarita
Oro ValleyPima County48,16253vs Sahuarita
Drexel HeightsPima County27,675vs Sahuarita
Green ValleyPima County22,114vs Sahuarita
Flowing WellsPima County16,559vs Sahuarita
VailPima County16,315vs Sahuarita
Tanque VerdePima County15,866vs Sahuarita
Valencia WestPima County14,728vs Sahuarita
Tucson EstatesPima County12,136vs Sahuarita

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Sahuarita

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
8562931,668$109,25355