CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

34.25° N · 111.22° W · GEOID 0469480

Star Valley

Gila County, Arizona · part of the Payson, AZ metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_home_value

ArizonaStar Valley, AZStar ValleyStar Valley

The short answer

Star Valley is home to 2,525 people. Median household income is $65,426 a year and median rent is $966 a month, 17.7% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $269,400, about 4.1x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$966
29% below the median place
Median household income
$65,426
19% below the median place
Median home value
$269,400
16% below the median place
Unemployment
0.0%
below the median place (median 4.9%)

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Star Valley

  • Between the 2019 and 2023 surveys, rent rose 31.5% a year while household income rose 18.5%, so rent outran pay by more than in 99% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 92 Arizona places.
  • Unemployment averaged 0.0% over the survey period, lower than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 74 Arizona places.
  • Households average 1.74 people, smaller than in 99% of places its size.
  • The median resident is 63.6 years old, older than in 98% of places its size.
  • Owning with a mortgage costs about $1,144 a month more than the median rent, a wider gap than in 90% of places its size.
01

Moving to Star Valley

Gila County gains about 9.7 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in2,580
Moved out2,194
Net+386

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Arizona, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within ArizonaOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$69K
Leavers$65K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Gila County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
8.7% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 2.0% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Gila County report $69,300 a year in income on average; those leaving, $64,900, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$38,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $966 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $2,110 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $269,400.
Getting to work
15 minutes each way on average; 12.2% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Hudson, FL matches it on character. Compare the two
Net movers per 1,000 people7
9.7
above the median place (median -0.6)
Moved here in the past year1
8.7%
51% above the median place
Income of households moving out7
$64,917
8% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureStar ValleyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure8.7%51% above
Moved from another state1County figure2.0%4% above
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure9.7above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$69,3452% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$64,9178% below
02

What it costs to live here

Property tax rate is 0.5%, 51% below the median place.

Star Valley17.7%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$38,640
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
17.7%
13% below the median place
Home price to income
4.1x
8% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
18%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$53,400
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Star Valley, $966 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Star Valley, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Swoyersville, PA12.5% vs 17.7%n/aCompare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Star Valley.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Star Valley? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax rate1
0.5%
51% below the median place
Vacant homes1
18.5%
162% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,225
62% below the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureStar ValleyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$96629% below
Rent to income117.7%13% below
Property tax rate10.5%51% below
Home price to income14.1x8% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$1,38015% below
HUD area median income3County figure$78,90026% below
Property tax paid (median)1$1,22562% below
Median home value1County figure$269,40016% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure-0.8%below (median 3.2%)
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure51.6%0% above
Homeownership187.1%31% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure38.6%24% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$2,11013% above
Vacant homes118.5%162% above
Median year built120011% above
03

Work and pay

Unemployment is 0.0%, below the median place (median 4.9%).

Unemployment1
0.0%
below the median place (median 4.9%)
Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Mean commute1
15 min
39% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureStar ValleyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$65,42619% below
Income per person1$60,73952% above
Unemployment10.0%below (median 4.9%)
Average annual pay5County figure$59,62110% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure5.2%41% above
Jobs5County figure15,33990% below
Poverty rate1County figure16.9%57% above
Mean commute115 min39% below
Works from home1County figure12.2%2% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Household size is 1.7, 30% below the median place.

Household size1
1.7
30% below the median place
Median age1
63.6
63% above the median place
No health insurance1
16.0%
150% above the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Bachelor's or higher15.5% −52%
High school or higher95.9% +4%
Homes with broadband88.2% −4%
All 9 people measures
MeasureStar ValleyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population12,5256646th largest
Population change since 202062.2%93% above
Median age163.663% above
Bachelor's or higher115.5%52% below
High school or higher195.9%4% above
Household size11.730% below
Born abroad1County figure3.6%60% below
No health insurance116.0%150% above
Homes with broadband188.2%4% below
05

Life in Star Valley

53 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, one of them a National Historic Landmark.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k7.9 −29%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails8 km 4.2×
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars21.9 +5%
Shops25.5 −16%
Arts, recreation and fitness3.5 −15%
Doctors' offices and clinics19.0 −6%
Child care centers1.1 −52%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Child care centers per 10k8
1.1
52% below the median place
Shops per 10k8
25.5
16% below the median place
Public schools11
36
300% above the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureStar ValleyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure36300% above
Public school students11County figure7,53454% above
Students per teacher11County figure16.15% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure21.95% above
Shops per 10k8County figure25.516% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure3.515% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure19.06% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure1.152% below
Parks per 10k90.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k90.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k97.929% below
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails98.3315% above
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure53308% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Tornado risk is 13.4, 84% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Star Valley. Larger places are fetched first.

Tornado risk13
13.4
84% below the median place
Wildfire risk13
99.1
62% above the median place
Hurricane risk13
7.7
89% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureStar ValleyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure94°F8% above
January average low12County figure31°F24% above
Average temperature12County figure60°F10% above
Annual precipitation12County figure18.6 in58% below
Natural hazard risk13County figure90.22% below
Hurricane risk13County figure7.789% below
Tornado risk13County figure13.484% below
Wildfire risk13County figure99.162% above
Heat wave risk13County figure86.74% below
Median air quality index14County figure479% above
Good air days14County figure62.7%8% below
08

Star Valley in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 20% of the median income in 2030, up from 18% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$966/mo (2023)$1,450/mo$1,170 to $1,800/mo+6.0%
Median household income$65,426 (2024)$89,000$75,000 to $105,000+5.3%
Population2,538 (2025)2,5802,470 to 2,690+0.3%

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Star Valley

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Hudson, FL$1,044$51,513Compare
Fortuna Foothills, AZ$1,141$60,474Compare
Fort Mohave, AZ$1,010$64,815Compare
North Fort Myers, FL$1,255$56,261Compare
North Fort Myers, FLFort Mohave, AZFortuna Foothills, AZHudson, FLStar Valley, AZStar ValleyHudsonFortuna FoothillsFort MohaveNorth Fort MyersStar ValleyHudsonFortuna FoothillsFort MohaveNorth Fort Myers

Common questions

Is Star Valley a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2023 surveys, rent rose 31.5% a year while household income rose 18.5%, so rent outran pay by more than in 99% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 92 Arizona places. Unemployment averaged 0.0% over the survey period, lower than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 74 Arizona places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Star Valley expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 17.7% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $269,400.

What salary do you need to live in Star Valley?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $38,640 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Star Valley?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Hudson, FL, Fortuna Foothills, AZ, Fort Mohave, AZ and North Fort Myers, FL.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Star Valley with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Star Valley itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/star-valley-arizona

Citytistics. “Star Valley, Arizona.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/star-valley-arizona/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.