Yuma, AZ

Metro Area Profile

211,741 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Yuma, AZ metropolitan area.

46out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 14% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity785th of 835 metro and micro areas measured21
GrowthTop 13% of 834 metro and micro areas measured74
Housing affordabilityTop 38% of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
Climate632nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
Physical resilience757th of 835 metro and micro areas measured20
Access460th of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
Economic stability530th of 835 metro and micro areas measured37
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 18.9% and the Opportunity signal places Yuma in the bottom 6%.

1,215 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.0 times what its owners earn.

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
211,741
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,876
Bottom 37% nationally
Density
38/sq mi
5,513.8 sq mi of land
Median age
36.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Arizona
Nearest major airport
NYL
41 mi · Yuma MCAS/Yuma Intl
Median home value
$217,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 18.9% — higher than in all but 1% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Unemployment has been rising for 4 consecutive months, most recently 18.9%.

Employment fell 3.0% over the past year, to 80,271 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,2592024 ACS 5-Year$62,876Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9962024 ACS 5-Year$30,204Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.4%Bottom 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.8 minTop 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.7%53rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202680,271Top 31%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.1%Top 34%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−3.0%Bottom 11%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202698,94273rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year71.3%Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$55,390Bottom 21%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$44,170Bottom 16%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS68,88033rd percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%71st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+2.1%Bottom 1%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 202618.9%Bottom 1%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year7.7%40th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/07199.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 18.9% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 4 months, 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.

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.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.4 students for every full-time teacher across 63 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
79
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.4
across 63 of them
Math proficiency
36.0%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
35.6%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 79 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
San Luis High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)2,68226.017%17%
Cibola High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)2,43425.447%37%
Gila Ridge High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)2,24924.737%42%
Kofa High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)1,97622.717%27%
Harvest Preparatory Academy · charterHarvest Power Community Development Group Inc. (79501)1,06818.428%25%
Yuma High SchoolYuma Union High School District (4507)1,04021.222%22%
Castle Dome Middle SchoolYuma Elementary District (4499)93925.428%34%
Mary A Otondo Elementary SchoolYuma Elementary District (4499)89324.144%48%
Desert View Academy · charterJuniper Tree Academy (79064)88120.064%66%
Desert Mesa Elementary SchoolYuma Elementary District (4499)87620.950%52%
Gowan Science AcademyCrane Elementary District (4501)81626.370%75%
Cesar Chavez ElementaryGadsden Elementary District (4505)76630.639%42%

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 this 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 $1,333 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% 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 39% above the $993 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 88% of the median household income here of $62,876.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $993 a month.

A median home at $217,800 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $72,476, 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.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
28.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,382
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$993
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$217,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Yuma’s median household income of $62,876, 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 index202388.1Top 12%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q20.0%11th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+40.8%40th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+101.6%60th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year71.0%57th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1272024 ACS 5-Year95,20076th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,053Bottom 30%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,892Bottom 21%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,382Bottom 23%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$362024 ACS 5-Year$993Bottom 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,2022024 ACS 5-Year$217,80052nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$372024 ACS 5-Year$1,33326th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,3732024 ACS 5-Year$72,476Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.61%27th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.5%Top 43%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±8532024 ACS 5-Year10,45792nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%88th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%26th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±8582024 ACS 5-Year15,85983rd percentileof 9352024 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

74/ 100
Top 13% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 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 7% since 2020, reaching 220,310 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 220,310 residents in 2024, up 2.3% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

At 5.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
1,215
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.7
Top 21% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
20.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024220k206k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 106°F and January a low of 43°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 4.0 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station YUMA 27 ENE, 16.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND0.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals4.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals106°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. 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. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Yuma MCAS/Yuma Intl at 41 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year88.7%Top 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle41 miBottom 49%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Yuma MCAS/Yuma IntlNYL41 mi13,300 ft
Phoenix GoodyearGYR100 mi8,500 ft
Phoenix Sky Harbor IntlPHX119 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
46
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.