Living in Kayenta, Arizona: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 18.3% below the U.S. average in the parts of Arizona outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Kayenta to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byKayenta Alternative Rural Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPhoenix is about 241 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 Kayenta 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

Home prices since then: Up 13%Navajo County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $772 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $58,423U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940: 4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 81.7U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Arizona outside metro areas)

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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arizona outside metro areas, not Kayenta 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 4,927The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 29.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 7%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 34%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

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: Construction (9%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (8%)
Work from home: 8%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Kayenta Alternative Rural Hospital, Kayenta, AZ, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

4 public schools in Kayenta, run by Kayenta Unified School District #27 (4396).

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 any internet subscription: 76%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: 25°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 59 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 105 a year
Elevation: 5,698 feet

Weather station: Monument Valley (20 miles away). 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

Flagstaff, AZCity of 77,000130

Phoenix, AZMetro of 5.2 million241

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: Flagstaff, Phoenix.

Navajo County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including Navajo National Monument.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Navajo National Monument13 miles
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area36 miles
Rainbow Bridge National Monument46 miles
Canyon de Chelly National Monument55 miles

Read about Kayenta's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kayenta?

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

Chinle, AZ4,100 people, 54 miles
Tuba City, AZ8,000 people, 68 miles
Page, AZ7,100 people, 71 miles
Blanding, UT3,200 people, 75 miles
Shiprock, NM7,600 people, 87 miles
Fort Defiance, AZ3,400 people, 94 miles

Sources

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.