Town in Gila County, Arizona

Payson

$439kMedian Home
350Sunny Days/yr
71°FAvg High Temp
Loading Weather
View on MapPopulation15kCenter elevation4,921 ft
Quick Read

Four real seasons, with most rain falls in winter. Spring and fall feel like real transition seasons. Winter can bring some snow, but it is not the main climate story. The air stays fairly dry through the year.

About Payson

Payson is a town in northern Gila County, Arizona, United States. Due to Payson's location being very near to the geographic center of Arizona, it has been called "The Heart of Arizona." Payson is also considered part of the colloquially defined Northern Arizona region, and the town serves as a gateway to the vast wilderness of the Colorado Plateau. The town is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest, the largest of the six national forests in Arizona—and the ninth largest national forest in the United States.Wikipedia

Four seasonsWinter rainSome winter snowArizona's Cool Mountain Town
Place

Where It Is

Location Context
Payson, Arizona
Latitude34.23°
Longitude-111.33°
Population15k
Center elevation4,921 ft

State Context

ArizonaU.S. state

Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Arizona is divided into 15 counties.Wikipedia

Income tax: Flat 2.50%Avg sales tax: 8.37%Property tax: 0.51%Official school data available

About the Region

Desert Southwest

The Desert Southwest — Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico — shares a climate defined by heat, aridity, and extraordinary landscape. Phoenix has grown into one of the country's largest cities on the premise of air-conditioned suburban living, a bargain for decades that is being stress-tested by climate shifts pushing summer highs above 110°F and placing long-term water resources under pressure. Las Vegas offers Nevada's zero income tax and extraordinary entertainment infrastructure against the same water equation tied to a shrinking Colorado River.

Tucson, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe offer a different profile: human-scale cities with deep roots in Spanish colonial and Indigenous traditions, lower costs than their larger neighbors, and the landscape that draws artists, retirees, and outdoor enthusiasts. The region's sunlight is exceptional — Phoenix regularly exceeds 300 sunny days per year — and the cultural texture across New Mexico in particular is unlike anywhere else in the United States.

Outdoors

Nature Access

Nature & Park Feeds

Closest protected landscapes, reserves, and big park systems surfaced from the same nearby feeds used in compare.

Distances in miles
National Park Service feed

Federal Park Sites

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OpenStreetMap feed

Local Nature & Reserves

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Sources: National Park Service and OpenStreetMap
People

City Profile

Median Age59 yrs
College Educated25%bachelor's or higher
Work From Home8%of workforce
Poverty Rate9%
Practical

Cost of Living

Housing
$2k/mo
Median rent
$439k
Median home price
Rent burden37% of income
Household Income
$60k
Median annual
Daily life

Livability

School Rating
8.2/10
Internet
No internet coverage data yet.
The year

Climate

Sunshine
350
sunny days per year
96% of the year
Avg High Temp
71°F
annual average
Humidity Pattern
Dry air
40% warm season / 54% cool season
Comfort Score
67/100
Good
Temp Swing
41°F
seasonal high-temp spread
Annual precipitation
20"
inches per year
Annual snowfall
28"
inches per year
Typical Air Quality
49
Good · 2024 modeled average
How To Read Comfort

Comfort combines temperature band fit, humidity fit, seasonal swing, and penalties for long stretches of extreme heat or cold. Higher scores mean the yearly pattern stays closer to an easier day-to-day climate band.

Monthly Temperature
Daylight Span (Sunrise to Sunset)
Precipitation Distribution
20" of precipitation per year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Humidity Through The Year
Hover any month for the exact RH value. This is measuring monthly relative humidity, not dew point or current weather.
big seasonal humidity swing
Summer 40% · Winter 54% · Jun-Jan 28-58%
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Hover a month for exact RH and seasonal context.
Right now

Current Conditions

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