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Somerton, Arizona

Somerton is a small town of about 14,900 people in Yuma County, Arizona. It has grown about 5% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.1 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, San Diego, is about 142 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
14,934
up 4.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$232,600
Yuma County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$74,015
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Yuma area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Yuma, AZ
To San Diego
142 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Yuma metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byYuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Diego is about 142 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 Somerton 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
$232,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Yuma County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$896 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$74,015U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,304 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
20%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Yuma 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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Yuma metro area, not Somerton 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
14,9342020: 14,231
Median age
31.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%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
4%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 (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%); farming, forestry and mining (14%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma, AZ, about 7 miles away. 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

7 public schools in Somerton, run by Somerton Elementary District (4500) and Yuma Union High School District (4507).

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
73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
48°F
July average high
107°F
Days 90°F or hotter
181 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
3.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
105 feet

Weather station: Yuma Mcas (6 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: Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma, San Diego.

Yuma 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

Read about Somerton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Somerton?

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

  • Orange Grove Mobile Manor, AZ (unincorporated)211 people, 2 miles
  • Rancho Mesa Verde, AZ (unincorporated)759 people, 2 miles
  • Wall Lane, AZ (unincorporated)374 people, 4 miles
  • Gadsden, AZ (unincorporated)493 people, 6 miles
  • Donovan Estates, AZ (unincorporated)507 people, 8 miles
  • Winterhaven, CA (unincorporated)234 people, 10 miles
  • El Prado Estates, AZ (unincorporated)258 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.