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Douglas, Arizona

Douglas is a small town of about 16,000 people in Cochise County, Arizona. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tucson, is about 94 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
16,038
down 2.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$157,700
Cochise County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$42,019
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Sierra Vista area
89.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
20 miles
Bisbee, AZ
To Tucson
94 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.8% below the U.S. average in the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood15 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 6 elementary, 3 middle, 1 high school and 2 other.
  • A hospital close byCopper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, about 20 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 94 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Douglas meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$157,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Cochise County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$772 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$42,019U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$904 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
5%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.2U.S. average = 100 (the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area, not Douglas alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
16,0382020: 16,518
Median age
34.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (26%); retail (14%); government (11%)
Unemployment rate
12%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
28%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Copper Queen Community Hospital, Bisbee, AZ, about 20 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Canyon Vista Medical Center, Sierra Vista, AZ, about 42 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

12 public schools in Douglas, run by Douglas Unified District (4174) and Center for Academic Success Inc. (4191).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Arizona's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
31°F
July average high
95°F
Days 90°F or hotter
116 a year
Nights at or below freezing
60 a year
Rain and melted snow
11 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
4,095 feet

Weather stations: Douglas (4 miles away) and Mc Neal (16 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Copper Queen Community Hospital, Tucson.

Cochise County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

14 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the San Bernardino Ranch, the Douglas Historic District, Douglas Municipal Airport and the Douglas Residential Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Coronado National Memorial40 miles
  • Chiricahua National Monument42 miles
  • Fort Bowie National Historic Site51 miles

Read about Douglas's history on Wikipedia.

Know Douglas?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Pirtleville, AZ (unincorporated)1,939 people, 3 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.