Living in Tombstone, Arizona: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.8% below the U.S. average in the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Tombstone to say.
A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 21.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byCanyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 55 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 Tombstone 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: $182,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%Cochise County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $668 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,143 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940: 11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 12%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 89.2U.S. average = 100 (the Sierra Vista-Douglas 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area, not Tombstone 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: 1,3762020: 1,307
Median age: 64.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 48%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 6%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%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: Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (24%); schools, health care and social services (13%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Canyon Vista Medical Center, Sierra Vista, AZ, about 15 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

2 public schools in Tombstone, run by Tombstone Unified District (4168).

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: 49%U.S.: 76%

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: 38°F
July average high: 94°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 101 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 29 a year
Rain and melted snow: 13.2 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 4,436 feet

Weather station: Tombstone (1 mile 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

Canyon Vista Medical CenterEmergency room15

Tucson, AZMetro of 1.1 million55

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: Canyon Vista Medical Center, Tucson.

Cochise 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

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Tombstone Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Coronado National Memorial26 miles
Saguaro National Park36 miles
Chiricahua National Monument45 miles
Fort Bowie National Historic Site46 miles
Tumacacori National Historical Park53 miles

Read about Tombstone's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tombstone?

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

Whetstone, AZ3,000 people, 13 miles
Huachuca City, AZ1,600 people, 17 miles
Sierra Vista, AZ45,000 people, 18 miles
Benson, AZ5,500 people, 20 miles
Sierra Vista Southeast, AZ14,300 people, 20 miles
Bisbee, AZ4,900 people, 24 miles

Smaller places

St. David, AZ (unincorporated)1,098 people, 14 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.