County · Arizona
Apache County, Arizona
Apache County, Arizona has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #2,712 of 3,143 US counties. Within Arizona it ranks #13 of 15 counties. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), rent as share of income (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), premature death (high) and injury deaths (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #2,712 of 3,143 counties
- Arizona
- #13 of 15 in AZ
- Population
- 64,445 (2025)
- Land area
- 11,198 mi²
- Density
- 5.8 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 04001
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 79 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.
- Safety47#1,637/3,096
- Economy1#3,107/3,143
- Housing69#968/3,140
- Health5#2,979/3,144
- Healthcare26#2,322/3,143
- Environment82#571/3,108
- Education4#3,021/3,144
- Infrastructure2#3,084/3,144
- Community16#2,652/3,144
- Leisure & amenities2#3,074/3,143
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Apache County, Arizona ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Effective property tax rate · low0.21%
- Rent as share of income · low16.0%
- Rent-burdened households · low24.1%
- Home price to income ratio · low1.5×
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.3 µg/m³97/100Arizona 6.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Property crime rate · low198 /100k95/100Arizona 1,514 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figure
Weaknesses
- Broadband subscriptions · low60.0%
- Premature death · high26,905 /100k0/100Arizona 9,154 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Injury deaths · high259 /100k0/100Arizona 106 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Life expectancy · low64.6 yrs1/100Arizona 77.3 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Severe housing problems · high27.9%
- Poverty rate · high29.3%
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Violent crime rateWorsening
50 /100k (2019) → 120 /100k (2025)
+140%6 yearsUS 369 /100k → 328 /100k
- Median Air Quality IndexWorsening
14 (2020) → 33 (2025)
+136%5 years
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
40.8% (Dec 2021) → 64.1% (Aug 2026)
+23 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
37.9% (2015-2019) → 60.0% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- New business applicationsImproving
3.1 /1k (2020) → 5.3 /1k (2025)
+72%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
- High ozone daysImproving
2 days (2017) → 1 days (2022)
−50%5 yearsUS 9 days → 7 days
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.
Counties like Apache County, Arizona five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Apache County, 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
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.
Cities and towns in Apache County
Places whose residents live mostly in Apache County, largest first.
Neighboring counties
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar counties
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Navajo County, AZ11Alike on Price level, Life expectancy, PM2.5
- McKinley County, NM6Alike on Precipitation, Housing problems, Drought
- San Juan County, NM5Alike on Drought, Broadband, Precipitation
- Cibola County, NM10Alike on Drought, Mammography, Overdose deaths
- Rio Arriba County, NM15Alike on Math, Property tax, PM2.5
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-03
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08
