The 10 Cheapest Tucson, AZ Neighborhoods To Live In For 2024


The cheapest Tucson neighborhoods are Fairgrounds and Santa Cruz Southwest for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: January 27, 2024
Worst Neighborhoods In Tucson
Source: Public domain

Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Tucson might be more expensive than living in rural Arizona, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

What exactly are those Tucson neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Tucson are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.

The Cheapest Neighborhoods In Tucson For 2024

  1. Fairgrounds
  2. Santa Cruz Southwest
  3. Bravo Park Lane
  4. El Rio Acres
  5. Country Glenn
  6. Barrio Centro
  7. Parkway Terrace
  8. A Mountain
  9. Las Vistas
  10. San Ignacio Yaqui

What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Tucson for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Fairgrounds looks to be the cheapest Tucson neighborhood to live in.

At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Tucson. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Tucson that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Tucson.

For more Arizona reading, check out:

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Tucson For 2024

1. Fairgrounds

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,147
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (16th cheapest)
More on Fairgrounds: Data | Real Estate

2. Santa Cruz Southwest

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,751
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (50th cheapest)
More on Santa Cruz Southwest: Data | Real Estate

3. Bravo Park Lane

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,154
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (38th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (25th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (5th cheapest)
More on Bravo Park Lane: Data | Real Estate

4. El Rio Acres

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,115
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (42nd cheapest)
More on El Rio Acres: Data | Real Estate

5. Country Glenn

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 1,179
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.4 (5cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (12th cheapest)
More on Country Glenn: Data | Real Estate

6. Barrio Centro

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 516
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (50th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (24th cheapest)
More on Barrio Centro: Data | Real Estate

7. Parkway Terrace

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 138
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (50th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (24th cheapest)
More on Parkway Terrace: Data | Real Estate

8. A Mountain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,502
Cost Of Living Index: 93 (58th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (15th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (10th cheapest)
More on A Mountain: Data | Real Estate

9. Las Vistas

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,674
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (38th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (43rd cheapest)
More on Las Vistas: Data | Real Estate

10. San Ignacio Yaqui

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 471
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (4cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (38th cheapest)
More on San Ignacio Yaqui: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Tucson Hoods In 2024

To rank the cheapest places to live in Tucson, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.

Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 128 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Tucson.” We’re lookin’ at you, Fairgrounds.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Tucson. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Tucson

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Tucson where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

The most affordable neighborhoods in Tucson are Fairgrounds, Santa Cruz Southwest, Bravo Park Lane, El Rio Acres, Country Glenn, Barrio Centro, Parkway Terrace, A Mountain, Las Vistas, and San Ignacio Yaqui.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Tucson aren’t all cheap. North University takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Tucson.

The most expensive neighborhoods in Tucson are North University, Mountain First Avenue, Pie Allen, West University, and Iron Horse.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Arizona reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Tucson For 2024

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Fairgrounds 87
2 Santa Cruz Southwest 86
3 Bravo Park Lane 90
4 El Rio Acres 88
5 Country Glenn 87
6 Barrio Centro 92
7 Parkway Terrace 92
8 A Mountain 93
9 Las Vistas 90
10 San Ignacio Yaqui 85
11 Westside Development 92
12 Mitman 97
13 Arroyo Chico 89
14 Silvercroft 89
15 Julia Keen 84
16 Cherry Avenue 86
17 Flowing Wells 88
18 Mortimore 93
19 Rillito 100
20 Myers 83
21 Rose 84
22 Dietz 89
23 El Cortez 91
24 Ironwood Ridge 100
25 Corbett 90
26 Broadway-Northeast 103
27 El Presidio 87
28 Rancho Buena 89
29 Harlan Heights 96
30 Doolen-Fruitvale 90
31 Elvira 90
32 Barrio Blue Moon 88
33 Sunnyside 89
34 Rita Ranch 106
35 Highland Vista Cinco Via 101
36 Naylor 88
37 Midvale Park 92
38 Groves Lincoln Park 93
39 Harrison East-South 102
40 Wakefield 87
41 Wilshire Heights 101
42 Terra Del Sol 89
43 South Harrison 99
44 Colonia Del Valle 97
45 La Madera 98
46 Barrio Anita 94
47 Thunderbird Heights-Wilmot Desert 96
48 Rosemont East 107
49 El Conquistador 122
50 Toumey Park 93
51 Miracle Manor 86
52 El Montevideo 128
53 Midtown 92
54 Desert Palms Park 109
55 Saint Cyrils 90
56 Menlo Park 95
57 Keeling 89
58 Drexel Park 84
59 Rosemont West 100
60 Sunset Villa 91
61 Stella Mann 92
62 Lakeside Park 95
63 Western Hills 91
64 Eastside 109
65 Poets Square 101
66 Enchanted Hills 92
67 Mesquite Ranch 112
68 Campbell-Grant 101
69 Cabrini 93
70 South Park 89
71 Peter Howell 98
72 Dodge Flower 86
73 Swan Way Park 88
74 Civano 112
75 Roberts 86
76 Santa Rita Park 90
77 Barrio Santa Rosa 95
78 Blenman-Elm 114
79 Broadmoor-Broadway 112
80 San Gabriel 96
81 Alvernon Heights 84
82 Mountain View 97
83 Palo Verde 96
84 Starr Pass 102
85 Prince Tucson 100
86 Amphi 88
87 Hedrick Acres 98
88 Balboa Heights 87
89 Desert Aire-Loma Linda 89
90 Campus Farm 93
91 Barrio Viejo 104
92 El Gheko 103
93 Barrio Hollywood 92
94 Miles East West 88
95 Northwest 98
96 Bear Canyon 118
97 San Clemente 98
98 Richland Heights West 102
99 Old Fort Lowell 103
100 North Dodge 85
101 Houghton 116
102 Limberlost 92
103 Vista Del Monte 95
104 Avondale 86
105 Rincon Heights 93
106 Sam Hughes 117
107 Ocotillo Oracle 96
108 Oak Flower 91
109 Armory Park 107
110 Dunbar Spring 100
111 Barrio San Antonio 102
112 Udall Park 103
113 Miramonte 96
114 Sewell 109
115 Tucson Park West 98
116 Shaheen Estates 103
117 Millville 102
118 Samos 103
119 Glenn Heights 101
120 Feldman’s 99
121 Jefferson Park 95
122 Catalina Vista-Blenman-Elm 117
123 Richland Heights East 101
124 Iron Horse 108
125 West University 106
126 Pie Allen 101
127 Mountain First Avenue 102
128 North University 108
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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