Buckeye, AZ — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Arizona·Buckeye

Maricopa County · Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler · population 114,334

Growing fast
Buckeye, AZ
Image: Wikipedia · Buckeye, Arizona
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
57
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Buckeye stands

Population growing 5.7% per year.

Median home $396,322
1-year -1.3%
5-yr CAGR +4.2%
vs 5-yr peak -13.1%
Population +5.7%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-07$396k$179k$277k$376k$474k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
15/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
96/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,003/mo$1,570$1,858$2,147202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent123120100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 16.5
Lean buy

At a 16.5 price-to-rent ratio, Buckeye is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
44 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
60 · w22%
Distance from peak
36 · w18%
Population growth
90 · w16%
Rent YoY
46 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
78 · w10%
Long thesis

Buckeye has held up across the cycle: home values at $396,322 with +4.2% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Buckeye's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Buckeye

Buckeye is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, with an estimated population of 114,334. It anchors the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. The population has grown 5.7% per year on average between 2020 and 2024 — among the faster-growing communities in the state. The median home value in Buckeye is $396,322 as of 2026-04, down 1.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.2% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 13% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Buckeye average $2,003 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.1%). The composite momentum score is 57 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●People are voting with their feet: population growing 5.7% per year since 2020 — that’s faster than ~80% of US cities.
○The data is the data: Buckeye has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●13% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Buckeye (Wikipedia)

Buckeye is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's second-largest city by area, and it is the westernmost suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,502, up from 50,876 in 2010, and 6,537 in 2000. It was the fastest-growing city in the United States for 2017, 2018, and 2021.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

Vice MayorEric OrsbornCite web
Area393.2 sq mi
Elevation1076 ft
Established1888
Density232.84/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Maricopa County right now.

NWS active alerts (AZ)Arizona Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Maricopa County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Buckeye

Goodyear, AZ57 · StableCasa Grande, AZ57 · StableMarana, AZ63 · RisingSurprise, AZ54 · Stable

Run the numbers for Buckeye

ToolCan I afford Buckeye?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Buckeye rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Buckeye to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBuckeye cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
65° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
106° / 79°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
286
~78% of year
Annual precip
14″ rain
2″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Buckeye listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
36%
Very dry climate
Median household income
$72,900
Arizona state median
Top industries (state-level)
HealthcareConstructionTech

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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