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Towns / Arizona

Williams, Arizona

Williams is a small town of about 3,500 people in Coconino County, Arizona, about 7,000 feet above sea level. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.3 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 116 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,473
up 8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$477,200
Coconino County prices up 12% since 2022
Household income
$76,136
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Flagstaff area
100.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
31 miles
Flagstaff, AZ
To Phoenix
116 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.3% above the U.S. average in the Flagstaff metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood28 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byFlagstaff Medical Center in Flagstaff, about 31 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhoenix is about 116 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 Williams 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
$477,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 12%Coconino County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,174 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$76,136U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,011 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
21%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
18%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.3U.S. average = 100 (the Flagstaff 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 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Flagstaff metro area, not Williams 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
3,4732020: 3,217
Median age
41.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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 (23%); finance, insurance and real estate (21%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Flagstaff Medical Center, Flagstaff, AZ, about 31 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

3 public schools in Williams, run by Williams Unified District (4193) and Heritage Elementary School (81076).

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
53%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
21°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
8 a year
Nights at or below freezing
150 a year
Rain and melted snow
21.6 inches a year
Snow
65 inches a year
Elevation
7,002 feet

Weather station: Williams (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

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: Flagstaff Medical Center, Flagstaff, Phoenix.

Coconino 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

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Grand Canyon Railway, the Williams Historic Business District and the Williams Residential Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Tuzigoot National Monument33 miles
  • Walnut Canyon National Monument37 miles
  • Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument37 miles
  • Wupatki National Monument42 miles
  • Montezuma Castle National Monument47 miles

Read about Williams's history on Wikipedia.

Know Williams?

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

  • Red Lake, AZ (unincorporated)1,676 people, 8 miles
  • Parks, AZ (unincorporated)1,706 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.