Prescott Valley composite
38.7 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Prescott Valley vs Yuma
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ and Yuma, AZ side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 38.7
- Prescott Valley Life Score
- D
- Prescott Valley grade
- 45.4
- Yuma Life Score
- C
- Yuma grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Prescott Valley scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Yuma on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Prescott Valley Yuma ◗
cost of living
28
57
wages
35
28
rent
24
40
safety
24
23
schools
68
69
childcare
38
37
environment
82
83
Prescott Valley and Yuma differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Prescott Valley has a cost-of-living index of 98.3 vs Yuma's 92.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $61,824 in Prescott Valley and $60,787 in Yuma. A 2-bedroom averages $1,637/mo vs $1,382/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Prescott Valley vs Yuma Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Prescott Valley and Yuma works out to $3,060 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Prescott Valley carries the same local purchasing power as $94,352 in Yuma - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 428.6 per 100,000 residents in AZ vs 428.6 in AZ, with property-crime rates of 1786.0 and 1786.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: AZ lists 2,186 public schools at a 17.2:1 student-teacher ratio, while AZ lists 2,186 schools at 17.2:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $11,301/yr in the Prescott Valley area versus $11,301/yr in Yuma - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Prescott Valley and Yuma are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Yuma composite
45.4 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Yuma cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Prescott Valley safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Prescott Valley
Prescott Valley composite (Grade D)
Yuma
Yuma composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Prescott Valley | Yuma |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 98.3 | 92.7 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.2 |
| Services | 91.5 | 87.8 |
| Rents | 98.8 | 73.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Yuma gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Prescott Valley?
$
Equivalent in Yuma:
$94,352
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Prescott Valley: 98.3, Yuma: 92.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Prescott Valley | Yuma |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,129/mo | $1,046/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,309/mo | $1,053/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,637/mo | $1,382/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,277/mo | $1,892/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,497/mo | $2,318/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Prescott Valley | Yuma |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $61,824 | $60,787 |
| Total Employment | 65,740 | 61,240 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Prescott Valley (AZ) | Yuma (AZ) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 428.6 | 428.6 |
| Property Crime | 1786.0 | 1786.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | AZ | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,186 | 2,186 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.2:1 | 17.2:1 |
| Charter Schools | 25.9% | 25.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | AZ | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,301/yr | $11,301/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $8,667/yr | $8,667/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $8,667/yr | $8,667/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | AZ | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 355 | 355 |
| Water Systems | 949 | 949 |
| Superfund Sites | 13 | 13 |
| Water Violations | 5,259 | 5,259 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Prescott Valley | Yuma |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 44.8 | 48.0 |
| Good Air Days | 60.9% | 54.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 7 days |
Prescott Valley air quality shown at state level. Yuma has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | AZ | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 2/100 | 2/100 |
| Total Violations | 228,944 | 228,944 |
| Health-Based Violations | 15,663 | 15,663 |
| Systems with Violations | 98.4% | 98.4% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | AZ | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 649 | 649 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | AZ | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 17/100 | 17/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 84.5 | 84.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 79.8 | 79.8 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Prescott Valley more expensive than Yuma? ▼
Prescott Valley has a cost of living index of 98.3 compared to Yuma's 92.7 (national average = 100). Prescott Valley is 5.5 points above Yuma on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Prescott Valley and Yuma? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,637/mo in Prescott Valley vs $1,382/mo in Yuma, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,129/mo to $1,046/mo.
How do salaries compare between Prescott Valley and Yuma? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $61,824 in Prescott Valley and $60,787 in Yuma, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Prescott Valley has the same purchasing power as $94,352 in Yuma.
Is Prescott Valley or Yuma safer? ▼
At the state level, AZ has a violent crime rate of 428.6 per 100,000 residents compared to AZ's 428.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1786.0 vs 1786.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Prescott Valley and Yuma? ▼
AZ has 2,186 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.2:1, while AZ has 2,186 schools at 17.2:1. Charter schools make up 25.9% of AZ schools vs 25.9% in AZ. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare