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San Carlos, Arizona

San Carlos is an unincorporated community of about 5,000 people in Gila County, Arizona. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tucson, is about 85 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,973
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$67,200
Gila County prices up 4% since 2022
Prices, rural Arizona
81.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Peridot, AZ
To Tucson
85 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in San Carlos 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: 1 elementary, 1 middle, 1 K-12 and 2 other.
  • A hospital close bySan Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation in Peridot, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 85 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 San Carlos 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
$67,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 4%Gila County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$540 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,403 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
19%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 San Carlos 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
4,973The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
28.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
33%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
2%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (30%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (17%); farming, forestry and mining (12%)
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation, Peridot, AZ, about 3 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: Banner Goldfield Medical Center, Apache Junction, AZ, about 63 miles away. 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 San Carlos, run by San Carlos Unified District (4210) and Gila County Regional School District (87600).

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
41%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
70%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
98°F
Days 90°F or hotter
138 a year
Nights at or below freezing
42 a year
Rain and melted snow
13.4 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
2,915 feet

Weather station: San Carlos Reservoir (12 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: San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation, Queen Creek, Tucson.

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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Tonto National Monument42 miles

Read about San Carlos's history on Wikipedia.

Know San Carlos?

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

  • Peridot, AZ (unincorporated)999 people, 3 miles
  • Cutter, AZ (unincorporated)103 people, 11 miles
  • East Globe, AZ (unincorporated)224 people, 13 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.