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Prescott, Arizona

Prescott is a small city of about 48,000 people in Yavapai County, Arizona, about 5,300 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. It has grown about 5% since 2020. A typical home costs about 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, Phoenix, is about 73 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
48,420
up 5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$564,100
Yavapai County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$70,874
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Prescott Valley area
98.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Yavapai Regional Medical Center
To Phoenix
73 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.7% below the U.S. average in the Prescott Valley-Prescott metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood208 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town15 public schools: 9 elementary, 1 middle, 3 high schools and 2 other.
  • A hospital close byYavapai Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhoenix is about 73 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 Prescott 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
$564,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Yavapai County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,395 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$70,874U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
68%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,885 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
8%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.3U.S. average = 100 (the Prescott Valley-Prescott 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 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Prescott Valley-Prescott metro area, not Prescott 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
48,4202020: 46,132
Median age
59.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
41%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
12%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
40%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%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 (25%); professional and business services (14%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Yavapai Regional Medical Center, Prescott, AZ, in town. It's a general hospital. 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

15 public schools in Prescott, run by Prescott Unified District (4466) and BASIS Charter Schools Inc. (92320).

Colleges in or next to town: Yavapai College (5,000 to 9,999 students); Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott (1,000 to 4,999 students); Prescott College (under 1,000 students).

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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%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
24°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
44 a year
Nights at or below freezing
128 a year
Rain and melted snow
16.5 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
5,313 feet

Weather station: Prescott (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: Prescott Valley, Phoenix.

Yavapai 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

72 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Courthouse Plaza Historic District, East Prescott Historic District (Additional Documentation), the Fleury's Addition Historic District and Fleury's Addition Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Tuzigoot National Monument26 miles
  • Montezuma Castle National Monument34 miles

Campus life. Check Yavapai College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Prescott's history on Wikipedia.

Know Prescott?

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

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.