Yuma, AZ

Metro Area Profile

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

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity377th of 379 metros measured16
GrowthTop 19% of 821 metros measured69
Housing affordability460th of 822 metros measured93
Climate626th of 822 metros measured60
Physical resilience749th of 822 metros measured20
Access789th of 822 metros measured33
Economic stability718th of 822 metros measured23
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 16.5% and the Opportunity signal places Yuma in the bottom 1%.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave.

The nearest major airport is 100 miles away, which is farther than most measured US metros.

At a glance

Population
211,741
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,876
Bottom 37% nationally
Density
38/sq mi
5513.8 sq mi of land
Median age
36.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Yuma, AZ
Nearest major airport
GYR
100 mi · Phoenix Goodyear
Median home value
$217,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 16.5% is lower than 0% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 4.0% over the past year, to 81,266 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,259$62,876Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$996$30,204Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.6%Top 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute22.8 minBottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher16.8%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment81,266Bottom 36%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.3%Bottom 44%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-4.0%Bottom 5%of 379June 2026
Labor force97,336Bottom 41%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation52.8%Bottom 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$55,390Bottom 20%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,170Bottom 15%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment68,880Bottom 33%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.8%Top 7%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate16.5%Top 1%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/06178.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 16.5% 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.
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

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $993 takes 19% 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
19.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$993
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$217,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.46Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.0%Top 43%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±12795,200Top 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$36$993Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,202$217,800Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.0%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate16.7%Top 21%of 9352024 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
69/ 100
Top 19% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured 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 more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 5.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,215
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.7
Top 22% 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.

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 precipitation4.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low43°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high106°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing39°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

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.

EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveHigh
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: drought, strong wind, volcanic activity, wildfire, landslide, lightning, hurricane, hail, tornado, winter weather.

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

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 100 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Phoenix GoodyearGYR100 mi8,500 ft
Phoenix Sky Harbor IntlPHX119 mi11,489 ft
Phoenix Deer ValleyDVT123 mi8,196 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
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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)

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.