Carefree, Arizona

Population

Down 2.3% since 2020.

3,600

people, the 67th-largest of Arizona's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Arizona's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

97.2%

of 2,528 jobs located in Carefree are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 1% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,538

a month. Arizona's median is $1,543.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,730 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Maricopa County.

• $771 Tract 9413
• $3,501 Tract 4202.07

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,052–$1,578

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,538 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

75% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 186 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 6% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 75% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.0–1.1% to the 2,315 homes here.

1–25

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 176% more than Arizona's.

$1,088,100

median home value in Carefree.

• $1,088,100 Carefree
• $394,500 Arizona
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year