Census-designated place · Pima County, Arizona

Vail, Arizona

Vail is a census-designated place in Pima County, Arizona, part of the Tucson, AZ metro area. It has 16,315 residents. Vail, Arizona has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,743 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arizona it ranks #15 of 207 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), broadband subscriptions (high) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on hot days (high), drug overdose deaths (high) and median Air Quality Index (high).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,743 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arizona: #15 of 207 in AZ
Population: 16,315 (2020-2024)
Land area: 23 mi²
Density: 719.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0478540

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.

Safety17#13,037/15,637
Economy92#1,188/15,631
Housing53#7,107/14,977
Health61#6,088/15,609
Healthcare72#4,417/15,650
Environment28#11,058/15,453
Education43#8,892/15,649
Infrastructure90#1,617/15,650
Community52#7,527/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,490/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.304
100/100Arizona 0.464United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Broadband subscriptions · high98.3%
97/100Arizona 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Comfortable days · high34.8%
94/100Arizona 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPima County value
Physical inactivity · low15.7%
93/100Arizona 24.7%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · high$130,904
91/100Arizona $81,404United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Adult smoking · low8.8%
90/100Arizona 13.4%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Hot days · high153 days
1/100Arizona 96 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPima County value
Drug overdose deaths · high36.4 /100k
5/100Arizona 35.9 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPima County value
Median Air Quality Index · high54
7/100Arizona 642025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPima County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
13/100Arizona 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPima County value
Suicide rate · high22.1 /100k
14/100Arizona 20.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPima County value
Job growth · low-1.9%
14/100Arizona -0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPima County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
12,982 (2015-2019) → 16,315 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$85,927 (2015-2019) → $130,904 (2020-2024)
+52%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.4% (2015-2019) → 42.4% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.2% (2015-2019) → 22.4% (2020-2024)
−7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
36.2% (2015-2019) → 42.9% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.405 (2015-2019) → 0.304 (2020-2024)
−25%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Vail, Arizona improved on 5 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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

Inequality−0.1010.405 → 0.304
Household income+52%$85,927 → $130,904
Unemployment−2.2 points3.8% → 1.6%
Bachelor's++6.8 points36.2% → 42.9%
Broadband+4.3 points94.0% → 98.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Vail, Arizona between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.0 min2015-2019	29.7 min2020-2024	−1.3 min	Within the margin of error	64%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.2%2015-2019	42.9%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Improved	78%
Broadband subscriptions	94.0%2015-2019	98.3%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Improved	27%
Effective property tax rate	0.94%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	57%
High school diploma or higher	94.4%2015-2019	96.3%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4052015-2019	0.3042020-2024	−0.101	Improved	96%
Median household income	$85,9272015-2019	$130,9042020-2024	+52%	Improved	86%
Poverty rate	4.9%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent as share of income	30.2%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Rent-burdened households	50.4%2015-2019	42.4%2020-2024	−8 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Unemployment rate	3.8%2015-2019	1.6%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Improved	84%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.0%2015-2019	3.8%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%

“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 Vail, Arizona five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Vail, 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, Vail, Arizona itself moved +14.6 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

16,315 residents (±1,953)

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

5,529 households (±566)

Vail, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $25k5.0%†276
$25k–50k5.6%†307
$50k–75k12%†

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,529 households (±566)

Vail, Arizona
Arizona share

Own91%5,036
Rent8.9%†493

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

7,924 workers (±1,087)

Vail, Arizona
Arizona share

Drive alone72%5,673
Carpool6.8%†538
Public transit0.2%†19

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 Tucson, 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 Pima County, the county holding most of Vail's residents.

Pima County has 21,381 employer establishments, 201 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Arizona's), with 341,481 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,983. The Census Bureau also counts 82,177 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 21,381; 82,177 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 201; US 248 · Arizona 219
Paid employees: 341,481
Average annual pay: $54,983; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	2,158	20.3	0.97×About typical	28,860	$73,866	4,753
Restaurants and other eating places	1,656	15.5	0.85×About typical	36,585	$22,997	387
Lessors of real estate	1,409	13.2	1.07×About typical	5,188	$55,125	8,225
Specialty trade contractors	1,345	12.6	0.82×About typical	16,448	$57,209	4,948
Limited-service restaurants	810	7.6	0.95×About typical	17,465	$20,548	195
Offices of physicians	726	6.8	1.05×About typical	10,042	$108,069	932
Services to buildings and dwellings	700	6.6	0.97×About typical	6,944	$35,250	5,423
Real estate agents and brokers	691	6.5	1.33×More than typical	944	$68,213	2,963
Offices of other health practitioners	629	5.9	0.97×About typical	3,430	$46,598	2,098
Full-service restaurants	606	5.7	0.74×Fewer than typical	15,606	$26,503	123
Building equipment contractors	578	5.4	0.90×About typical	6,817	$59,165	890
Construction of buildings	556	5.2	0.69×Fewer than typical	5,829	$87,727	2,387

Rank places for an industry Open Pima County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,065,239 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 $226.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Vail, Arizona: $13.88 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $226.5K; −75% vs FY2025
Per resident: $13.88; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.2%; 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

Forest Service$153.9K68%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$61.6K27%
Federal Acquisition Service$10.3K4.5%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$7260.3%

Top recipients

HELICOPTER EXPRESS LLC$153.9K68%
TACTICAL INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SOLUTIONS LLC$61.6K27%
EAN HOLDINGS, LLC$10.3K4.5%
VAIL SCHOOL DISTRICT 20$7260.3%

Spending by fiscal year

615.6KFY2017
860.3KFY2018
130.2KFY2019
29.8KFY2020
255.6KFY2021
130.9KFY2022
842.2KFY2023
816.2K

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$153.9K68%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$61.6K27%
Automotive equipment rental and leasing · 5321$10.3K4.5%
Elementary and secondary schools · 6111$7260.3%

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

Vail, Arizona's figures are part of those of Pima County, AZ ($13.1B 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: Vail is mostly in Pima County.

See federal money in Pima 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.

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

House

Senate

County

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

Pima County48100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Tucson, AZ55

Other cities and towns in Pima 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/0478540

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends