Census-designated place · Navajo County, Arizona

North Fork, Arizona

North Fork is a census-designated place in Navajo County, Arizona, part of the Show Low, AZ metro area. It has 1,463 residents. North Fork, Arizona has a quality-of-life score of 4 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,974 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arizona it ranks #190 of 207 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), rent as share of income (low) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on premature death (high), injury deaths (high) and suicide rate (high).

4Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,974 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arizona: #190 of 207 in AZ
Population: 1,463 (2020-2024)
Land area: 62 mi²
Density: 23.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 0450000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety11#13,973/15,637
Economy29#11,028/15,631
Housing—
Health1#15,479/15,609
Healthcare10#14,084/15,650
Environment86#2,089/15,453
Education4#14,954/15,649
Infrastructure2#15,373/15,650
Community14#13,499/15,651
Leisure & amenities10#14,065/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where North Fork, Arizona ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Navajo 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

Home price to income ratio · low0.9×
100/100Arizona 4.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent as share of income · low9.0%
100/100Arizona 30.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At most this value: the publisher's bottom bracket is open-ended
Median Air Quality Index · low13
99/100Arizona 642025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyNavajo County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.4 µg/m³
98/100Arizona 6.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyNavajo County value
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
86/100Arizona 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesNavajo County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100Arizona 7.6%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyNavajo County value

Weaknesses

Premature death · high20,795 /100k
1/100Arizona 9,154 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNavajo County value
Injury deaths · high197 /100k
1/100Arizona 106 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNavajo County value
Suicide rate · high39.4 /100k
1/100Arizona 20.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNavajo County value
Life expectancy · low68.1 yrs
1/100Arizona 77.3 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNavajo County value
Food environment index · low4.8
1/100Arizona 6.8United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNavajo County value
Adult smoking · high26.0%
1/100Arizona 13.4%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,676 (2015-2019) → 1,463 (2020-2024)
−13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
28.8% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,793 (2015-2019) → $123,313 (2020-2024)
+143%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
33.1% (2015-2019) → 57.4% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
22.9% (2015-2019) → 5.5% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateImproving
21.4% (2015-2019) → 5.8% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, North Fork, Arizona improved on 2 of 7 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 moved within the margin of error and 0 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+143%$50,793 → $123,313
Broadband+24 points33.1% → 57.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of North Fork, Arizona between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	33.1%2015-2019	57.4%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	95%
High school diploma or higher	80.7%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	1.1×2015-2019	0.8×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	87%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4082015-2019	0.4102020-2024	+0.003	Within the margin of error	48%
Median household income	$50,7932015-2019	$123,3132020-2024	+143%	Improved	100%
Poverty rate	19.2%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.1%2015-2019	18.2%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	14%

“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 North Fork, Arizona five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of North Fork, 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.

No place that looked like North Fork, Arizona five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, North Fork, Arizona itself moved +17.8 points in standing on average over the same 5 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

1,463 residents (±505)

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

479 households (±167)

North Fork, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $25k22%†107
$25k–50k11%†54
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

479 households (±167)

North Fork, Arizona
Arizona share

Own70%†335
Rent30%†144

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

715 workers (±328)

North Fork, Arizona
Arizona share

Drive alone64%†459
Carpool18%†128
Public transit

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 Show Low, 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 Navajo County, the county holding most of North Fork's residents.

Navajo County has 1,860 employer establishments, 170 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Arizona's), with 20,516 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,779. The Census Bureau also counts 6,635 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,860; 6,635 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 170; US 248 · Arizona 219
Paid employees: 20,516
Average annual pay: $44,779; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	190	17.4	0.83×About typical	2,374	$61,449	325
Restaurants and other eating places	167	15.3	0.83×About typical	2,760	$22,734	56
Specialty trade contractors	139	12.7	0.82×About typical	815	$48,983	572
Lessors of real estate	108	9.9	0.80×About typical	192	$42,745	619
Construction of buildings	83	7.6	1.01×About typical	397	$46,531	334
Full-service restaurants	82	7.5	0.98×About typical	1,226	$25,357	24
Limited-service restaurants	72	6.6	0.82×About typical	1,415	$21,098	14
Building equipment contractors	55	5	0.84×About typical	324	$48,157	113
Real estate agents and brokers	55	5	1.03×About typical	55	$75,036	233
Services to buildings and dwellings	55	5	0.75×Fewer than typical	194	$32,521	385
Offices of physicians	54	4.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	325	$88,142	53
Gasoline stations	53	4.9	1.50×More than typical	663	$32,297	—

Rank places for an industry Open Navajo County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 109,197 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 $5.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in North Fork, Arizona: $3,692 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5.4M; −36% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3,692; US $1,994
Sole-source: 18%; US 30%
Single offer: 30%; 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

Indian Health Service$3.1M57%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$1.9M35%
Departmental Offices$292.1K5.4%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$57.5K1.1%
Forest Service$55.5K1.0%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources$18.3K0.3%
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission$3240.0%

Top recipients

WU & ASSOCIATES INC$1.6M29%
FOUR WINDS STAFFING LLC$629.6K12%
WHITE MOUNTAIN RADIOLOGY, P.L.L.C.$461.5K8.5%
NAVOPACHE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.$356.4K6.6%
SONORA QUEST LABORATORIES LLC$324.4K6.0%

Spending by fiscal year

3.6MFY2017
3.8MFY2018
6.2MFY2019
5.3MFY2020
5.6MFY2021
11.1MFY2022
11.8MFY2023
6.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$1.6M29%
Medical and diagnostic laboratories · 6215$1.1M20%
Offices of other health practitioners · 6213$710.2K13%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$702.5K13%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$356.4K6.6%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

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 North Fork, Arizona, so they do not add up across cities.

North Fork, Arizona's figures are part of those of Navajo County, AZ ($91.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 5.9% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: North Fork is mostly in Navajo County.

See federal money in Navajo 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.

North Fork, Arizona is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Elijah CraneR-AZ-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 2.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Navajo County11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Show Low, AZ13

Other cities and towns in Navajo 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/0450000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends