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Towns / Arizona

Payson, Arizona

Payson is a small town of about 16,700 people in Gila County, Arizona, about 5,000 feet above sea level. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.6 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, Phoenix, is about 64 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
16,693
up 1.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$382,400
Gila County prices up 4% since 2022
Household income
$67,710
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Arizona
81.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
53 miles
Scottsdale, AZ
To Phoenix
64 mi
straight line

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 moneyA typical home costs 5.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood48 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 14.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byHonorhealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Med Ctr in Scottsdale, about 53 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhoenix is about 64 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 Payson 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
$382,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 4%Gila County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,345 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$67,710U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,789 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
13%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 4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arizona outside metro areas, not Payson 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
16,6932020: 16,393
Median age
60.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
40%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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
Schools, health care and social services (22%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); construction (12%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Honorhealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Med Ctr, Scottsdale, AZ, about 53 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

4 public schools in Payson, run by Payson Unified District (4209).

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
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
26°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
65 a year
Nights at or below freezing
125 a year
Rain and melted snow
19.8 inches a year
Snow
18 inches a year
Elevation
4,997 feet

Weather station: Payson (2 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

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: Honorhealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Med Ctr, Scottsdale, Phoenix.

Gila 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Thompson Draw Summer Homes Unit 1 Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Montezuma Castle National Monument37 miles
  • Tonto National Monument42 miles
  • Tuzigoot National Monument54 miles

Read about Payson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Payson?

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

  • Mesa del Caballo, AZ (unincorporated)944 people, 3 miles
  • Round Valley, AZ (unincorporated)631 people, 4 miles
  • East Verde Estates, AZ (unincorporated)275 people, 5 miles
  • Whispering Pines, AZ (unincorporated)151 people, 9 miles
  • Gisela, AZ (unincorporated)587 people, 10 miles
  • Tonto Village, AZ (unincorporated)123 people, 12 miles
  • Deer Creek, AZ (unincorporated)242 people, 12 miles
  • Mead Ranch, AZ (unincorporated)218 people, 12 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.