Census-designated place · Maricopa County, Arizona

New River, Arizona

New River is a census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, part of the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area. It has 18,240 residents. New River, Arizona has a quality-of-life score of 53 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,361 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arizona it ranks #24 of 207 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), physical inactivity (low) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on hot days (high), public libraries (low) and high ozone days (high).

53Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,361 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arizona: #24 of 207 in AZ
Population: 18,240 (2020-2024)
Land area: 56 mi²
Density: 325.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0449360

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety15#13,235/15,637
Economy95#823/15,631
Housing32#10,197/14,977
Health71#4,576/15,609
Healthcare64#5,655/15,650
Environment14#13,232/15,453
Education52#7,582/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,654/15,650
Community53#7,373/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,641/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where New River, Arizona ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Maricopa County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child poverty rate · low2.5%
97/100Arizona 15.2%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Physical inactivity · low15.8%
93/100Arizona 24.7%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · high21.0 /1k
92/100Arizona 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMaricopa County value
Comfortable days · high33.6%
92/100Arizona 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMaricopa County value
Median household income · high$134,289
92/100Arizona $81,404United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Broadband subscriptions · high96.8%
89/100Arizona 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Weaknesses

Hot days · high164 days
1/100Arizona 96 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMaricopa County value
Public libraries · low0.1 /10k
1/100Arizona 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMaricopa County value
High ozone days · high41 days
2/100Arizona 27 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMaricopa County value
Median Air Quality Index · high73
3/100Arizona 642025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMaricopa County value
Drug overdose deaths · high38.2 /100k
4/100Arizona 35.9 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMaricopa County value
Days with unhealthy air · high10.4%
4/100Arizona 7.6%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMaricopa County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
15,910 (2015-2019) → 18,240 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.4% (2015-2019) → 62.7% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$85,294 (2015-2019) → $134,289 (2020-2024)
+57%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.6% (2015-2019) → 33.9% (2020-2024)
+6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
91.5% (2015-2019) → 96.8% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
3.9% (2015-2019) → 6.3% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, New River, Arizona improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+57%$85,294 → $134,289
Broadband+5.2 points91.5% → 96.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of New River, Arizona between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.3 min2015-2019	34.0 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.7%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Broadband subscriptions	91.5%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Improved	33%
Effective property tax rate	0.64%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	48%
High school diploma or higher	95.2%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	4.8×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4052015-2019	0.4112020-2024	+0.005	Within the margin of error	46%
Median household income	$85,2942015-2019	$134,2892020-2024	+57%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	3.9%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent-burdened households	45.4%2015-2019	62.7%2020-2024	+17 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Unemployment rate	3.2%2015-2019	3.0%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.5%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like New River, Arizona five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of New River, Arizona in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, New River, Arizona itself moved −7.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

18,240 residents (±1,451)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,096 households (±663)

New River, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $25k6.7%†477
$25k–50k6.5%†462
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,096 households (±663)

New River, Arizona
Arizona share

Own95%6,719
Rent5.3%†377

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

9,934 workers (±1,026)

New River, Arizona
Arizona share

Drive alone64%6,311
Carpool6.3%†626
Public transit0.7%†66

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Maricopa County, the county holding most of New River's residents.

Maricopa County has 109,863 employer establishments, 239 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Arizona's), with 2,016,986 paid employees at an average annual pay of $65,314. The Census Bureau also counts 420,481 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 109,863; 420,481 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 239; US 248 · Arizona 219
Paid employees: 2,016,986
Average annual pay: $65,314; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Maricopa County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	11,860	25.8	1.24×About typical	131,970	$72,180	22,768
Lessors of real estate	8,251	17.9	1.46×More than typical	37,293	$76,781	45,302
Restaurants and other eating places	7,900	17.2	0.93×About typical	179,839	$25,808	1,950
Specialty trade contractors	6,622	14.4	0.93×About typical	107,212	$70,604	23,399
Real estate agents and brokers	4,624	10	2.06×More than typical	9,877	$93,622	16,762
Management, scientific and technical consulting	4,138	9	1.34×More than typical	33,045	$84,043	17,938
Limited-service restaurants	3,860	8.4	1.05×About typical	81,774	$22,315	824
Offices of physicians	3,779	8.2	1.27×More than typical	39,371	$105,755	4,285
Offices of other health practitioners	3,666	8	1.31×More than typical	22,356	$49,887	9,901
Services to buildings and dwellings	3,153	6.9	1.02×About typical	37,322	$40,356	22,259
Building equipment contractors	2,833	6.2	1.02×About typical	51,557	$75,801	4,982
Full-service restaurants	2,789	6.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	79,564	$30,528	749

Rank places for an industry Open Maricopa County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 4,601,077 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in New River, Arizona: $228 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4.2M; +54% vs FY2025
Per resident: $228; US $1,994
Sole-source: 23%; US 30%
Single offer: 2.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$3.2M78%
Defense Logistics Agency$551.7K13%
Bureau of Land Management$282.5K6.8%
Departmental Offices$48.4K1.2%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$25.1K0.6%
Department of Veterans Affairs$10.4K0.3%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$2,4950.1%

Top recipients

OCS CONSTRUCTION SERVICES INC$2.2M52%
NAPHCARE LLC$799.7K19%
CND, LLC$322.9K7.8%
CATTOOR LIVESTOCK ROUNDUP, INC$282.5K6.8%
MARVEL AERO INTERNATIONAL, INC.$174.8K4.2%

Spending by fiscal year

2MFY2017
6.8MFY2018
4.2MFY2019
2.4MFY2020
1.9MFY2021
3MFY2022
596.7KFY2023
538.1K

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$1.8M43%
General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$799.7K19%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$460.2K11%
Utility system construction · 2371$424.8K10%
Support activities for animal production · 1152$282.5K6.8%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in New River, Arizona, so they do not add up across cities.

New River, Arizona's figures are part of those of Maricopa County, AZ ($11.6B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: New River is mostly in Maricopa County.

See federal money in Maricopa County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

New River, Arizona is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Maricopa County58100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ54

Other cities and towns in Maricopa County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0449360

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends