Scores by category

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

Safety36#10,045/15,637
Economy36#9,996/15,631
Housing58#6,316/14,977
Health46#8,421/15,609
Healthcare6#14,787/15,650
Environment18#12,720/15,453
Education2#15,329/15,649
Infrastructure16#13,106/15,650
Community12#13,752/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#15,064/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Comfortable days · high34.4%
94/100Arizona 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationYuma County value
Depression · low17.2%
93/100Arizona 20.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Preventable hospital stays · low1,985 /100k
85/100Arizona 2,070 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYuma County value
Frequent mental distress · low15.8%
82/100Arizona 17.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Effective property tax rate · low0.60%
79/100Arizona 0.48%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Life expectancy · high79.6 yrs
77/100Arizona 77.3 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYuma County value

Weaknesses

Hot days · high178 days
0/100Arizona 96 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationYuma County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high26.8%
3/100Arizona 12.9%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Social associations · low4.1 /10k
3/100Arizona 5.7 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYuma County value
Distance to an airport · high137 mi
3/100Arizona 30 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauYuma County value
Students per teacher · high21.6×
4/100Arizona 17.6×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsYuma County value
Poor or fair health · high31.3%
5/100Arizona 21.2%United States 19.9%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
16,146 (2015-2019) → 14,574 (2020-2024)
−9.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.7% (2015-2019) → 88.0% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
33.4% (2015-2019) → 14.6% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$38,315 (2015-2019) → $74,015 (2020-2024)
+93%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
25.8% (2015-2019) → 13.8% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
19.4% (2015-2019) → 26.8% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Somerton, Arizona improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 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.

Improved5

Household income+93%$38,315 → $74,015
Poverty−12 points25.8% → 13.8%
Unemployment−5 points8.7% → 3.7%
Child poverty−19 points33.4% → 14.6%
Broadband+22 points65.7% → 88.0%

Declined1

Uninsured+7.4 points19.4% → 26.8%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Somerton, Arizona between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.0 min2015-2019	22.5 min2020-2024	−1.6 min	Within the margin of error	66%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.0%2015-2019	12.4%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	65.7%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	93%
Child poverty rate	33.4%2015-2019	14.6%2020-2024	−19 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	0.86%2015-2019	0.60%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	68%
High school diploma or higher	63.0%2015-2019	61.5%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4192015-2019	0.3952020-2024	−0.023	Within the margin of error	70%
Median household income	$38,3152015-2019	$74,0152020-2024	+93%	Improved	98%
Poverty rate	25.8%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	95%
Rent as share of income	28.3%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Rent-burdened households	45.3%2015-2019	39.1%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Unemployment rate	8.7%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−5 points	Improved	96%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	19.4%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Declined	6%

“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 Somerton, Arizona five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Somerton, 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, Somerton, Arizona itself moved +15.3 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

14,574 residents (±19)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 men (−4.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

14,574 residents (±19)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

White3.2%†471
Black0.3%†44
Hispanic or Latino96%13,957

Education

8,656 residents (±621)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

No high school diploma38%3,332
High school or GED22%1,877
Some college23%1,968

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

4,964 households (±337)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $25k16%†810
$25k–50k17%†854
$50k–75k18%†898
$75k–100k23%†1,150
$100k–150k19%†944
$150k–200k4.0%†198
$200k or more2.2%†110

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−18.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,964 households (±337)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Own74%3,660
Rent26%†1,304

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,262 households (±398)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $75042%†531
$750–1,00027%†341
$1,000–1,50022%†275

Home values

3,660 homes (±398)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $150k14%†516
$150k–250k43%1,560
$250k–400k41%1,498

Age of homes

5,168 homes (±347)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

2010 or later20%†1,056
2000–200936%1,875
1980–199921%1,090

Size of homes

5,168 homes (±347)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Studio11%†544
1 bedroom3.3%†170
2 bedrooms7.8%†403

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

6,357 workers (±649)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Drive alone91%5,813
Carpool2.4%†150
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.2%†394
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (−6.7 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

5,963 workers (±606)

Somerton, Arizona
Arizona share

Under 15 min28%1,665
15–29 min49%2,893
30–44 min16%†958

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Yuma, 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 Yuma County, the county holding most of Somerton's residents.

Yuma County has 3,376 employer establishments, 158 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.72× Arizona's), with 50,443 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,901. The Census Bureau also counts 13,837 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,376; 13,837 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 158; US 248 · Arizona 219
Paid employees: 50,443
Average annual pay: $43,901; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	302	14.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	3,655	$60,144	649
Specialty trade contractors	268	12.5	0.81×About typical	2,350	$48,760	931
Restaurants and other eating places	264	12.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	5,692	$22,288	107
Lessors of real estate	166	7.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	445	$38,764	1,124
Limited-service restaurants	138	6.4	0.80×About typical	2,889	$21,760	19
Truck transportation	131	6.1	1.21×About typical	665	$60,555	660
Building equipment contractors	113	5.3	0.88×About typical	954	$47,126	235
Automotive repair and maintenance	108	5	1.00×About typical	616	$40,323	374
Construction of buildings	104	4.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	848	$47,309	508
Offices of physicians	104	4.9	0.75×Fewer than typical	668	$88,274	93
Services to buildings and dwellings	98	4.6	0.68×Fewer than typical	566	$33,613	1,661
Full-service restaurants	93	4.3	0.57×Fewer than typical	2,244	$23,392	50

Rank places for an industry Open Yuma County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 214,228 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Somerton, Arizona: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

9.1KFY2017
54.3KFY2018
3.2KFY2019
32.7KFY2020
-492.8FY2021
362.3KFY2022
34.6KFY2023
-6.2KFY2024

What was bought

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 Somerton, Arizona, so they do not add up across cities.

Somerton, Arizona's figures are part of those of Yuma County, AZ ($343.2M 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: Somerton is mostly in Yuma County.

See federal money in Yuma 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.

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