San Luis, Arizona

Area Profile

37,337 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for San Luis, in Yuma County.

46out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 10% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity4,056th of 4,199 cities measured25
Schools4,086th of 4,162 cities measured8
GrowthTop 4% of 4,224 cities measured80
Housing affordabilityTop 2% of 4,218 cities measured90
Climate3,730th of 4,225 cities measured59
Physical resilience3,658th of 4,226 cities measured20
Access2,730th of 4,226 cities measured88
Economic stability3,708th of 4,226 cities measured33
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 32.1% and the Opportunity signal places San Luis in the bottom 3%.

In the public schools here, 32% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.3 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 308 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 27% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
37,337
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,400
Bottom 38% nationally
Density
1,104/sq mi
33.8 sq mi of land
Median age
33.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Arizona
Metro area
Nearest major airport
NYL
14 mi · Yuma MCAS/Yuma Intl
Median home value
$224,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 32.1% — higher than in all but 1% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 3.0% over the past year, to 12,946 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsYuma County, AZ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,39314th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftYuma County, AZ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,24914th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,2412024 ACS 5-Year$59,400Bottom 38%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5422024 ACS 5-Year$19,712Bottom 8%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year18.5%Bottom 26%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.2 minBottom 38%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Bottom 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.6%51st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,946Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.8%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−3.0%Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202619,07620th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year54.7%Bottom 8%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageYuma, AZ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,390Bottom 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageYuma, AZ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$44,170Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%88th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+2.9%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 202632.1%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073811
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 32.1% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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

202120222023202459k44k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,400 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 — Yuma, AZ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse4,420$34,610
Cashiers1,880$31,790
Retail Salespersons1,840$33,840
General and Operations Managers1,800$79,990
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,800$30,580
Registered Nurses1,640$94,320

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

32% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 29% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 23.3 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.3
across 20 of them
Math proficiency
31.8%
Bottom 12% in Arizona
Reading proficiency
28.6%
Bottom 6% in Arizona
The 12 largest of 23 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
San Luis High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)2,68226.017%17%
Cesar Chavez ElementaryGadsden Elementary District (4505)76630.639%42%
Desert View ElementaryGadsden Elementary District (4505)76030.453%44%
Somerton Middle SchoolSomerton Elementary District (4500)69722.534%29%
Arizona Desert Elementary SchoolGadsden Elementary District (4505)66226.542%31%
Southwest Jr. High SchoolGadsden Elementary District (4505)65222.535%32%
Ed Pastor Elementary 4Gadsden Elementary District (4505)64628.127%36%
San Luis Middle SchoolGadsden Elementary District (4505)62031.022%23%
Somerton High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)60821.7——
Tierra Del Sol Elementary SchoolSomerton Elementary District (4500)57918.753%45%
Harvest Preparatory Academy San Luis AZ · charterHarvest Power Community Development Group Inc. (79501)57515.528%24%
Rio Colorado Elementary SchoolGadsden Elementary District (4505)52324.921%21%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Arizona’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.1, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Yuma, AZ Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and flat over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,337 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.59% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,382, some 87% above the $741 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,382 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $55,300 a year, about 93% of the median household income here of $59,400.

The typical renter household here spends 20% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $741 a month.

A median home at $224,900 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $64,808, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
88.1

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Yuma, AZ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
19.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,382
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$741
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$224,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against San Luis’s median household income of $59,400, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Yuma, AZ Metro Area’s figure202388.1Top 3%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Yuma, AZ Metro Area’s figure2026 Q20.0%7th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Yuma, AZ Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.8%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Yuma, AZ Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+101.6%65th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 25%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year68.4%35th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5642024 ACS 5-Year9,82694th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,053Top 26%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,892Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,382Top 34%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$782024 ACS 5-Year$741Top 21%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,3252024 ACS 5-Year$224,90059th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$922024 ACS 5-Year$1,33736th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,9822024 ACS 5-Year$64,808Bottom 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.59%19th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year19.9%Top 15%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±542024 ACS 5-Year6385th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%58th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%22nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1382024 ACS 5-Year26482nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

80/ 100
Top 4% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 12% since 2020, reaching 40,064 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 175 units authorized in 2025, 69% below the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 40,064 residents in 2024, up 4.0% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 308 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Yuma County, which contains San Luis, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $54,393, close to the $54,249 of households that moved out.

At 8.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
308
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.2
Top 16% nationally
Year over year
+27%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202440k36k
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. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
81%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,393
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,249
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Maricopa County, AZ 1,064 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. San Diego County, CA 841 people · 9.2% of arrivals
  3. Imperial County, CA 620 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  4. Monterey County, CA 406 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 304 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Maricopa County, AZ 1,606 people · 18% of departures
  2. Imperial County, CA 466 people · 5.3% of departures
  3. San Diego County, CA 466 people · 5.3% of departures
  4. Pima County, AZ 358 people · 4.0% of departures
  5. Riverside County, CA 253 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Yuma County, AZ. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025567175
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−52%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 107°F and January a low of 48°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 3.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 47, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°100°120°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station YUMA MCAS, 12.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND0.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year742024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals3.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals107°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year472024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
47
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
74
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
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. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

20 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 57% of it.

EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveHigh
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: drought, strong wind, volcanic activity, wildfire, landslide, lightning, hurricane, hail, tornado, winter weather, cold wave, ice storm, tsunami, coastal flooding, avalanche.

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.

Violent crime
85
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
512
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

San Luis's police department reported 85 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 512.

Yuma County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.2 per 100,000 residents in Yuma County.

Homicide
4.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by San Luis’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around San Luis (Yuma County) rather than San Luis itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Yuma MCAS/Yuma Intl at 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year86.8%Bottom 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%Bottom 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Yuma MCAS/Yuma IntlNYL14 mi13,300 ft
Jacqueline Cochran RgnlTRM115 mi8,500 ft
Palm Springs IntlPSP139 mi10,000 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
46
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—

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Other cities in Yuma, AZ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
YumaYuma County100,13946Yuma vs San Luis
Fortuna FoothillsYuma County28,89644Fortuna Foothills vs San Luis
SomertonYuma County14,57445Somerton vs San Luis

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.

Compare

Put San Luis side by side with a similar place.

San Luis vs Fortuna FoothillsSan Luis vs Yuma

Moving to San Luis from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in San Luis

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in San Luis with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track San Luis closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8534931,316$60,330$223,200—
8535019,011$74,025$237,30048
853366,514$49,152$226,80045