These are Arizona’s best suburbs for house renters

These suburbs of Phoenix and Tucson score the highest for house renters.

Vail and Buckeye are the top two suburbs for renters looking for houses rather than apartments, according to a recent study from Point2 Homes, an international real estate search portal.

Point2 analyzed the suburbs with at least 5,000 residents within a 20-mile radius or a 30-minute drive from Phoenix and Tucson, the state’s two most populous cities, and found they have an even split of top-rated suburbs for house renters. 

The factors determining which suburbs are best for house-renters include median household income for renters, cost of living, number of rental listings for single-family homes, number of rooms per rental property, unemployment rate, commute times, and the percentage of single-family renters. 

As mortgages and rental prices rise in the cities of Phoenix and Tucson, these suburbs offer an alternative to those looking for lower prices and more space. 

Six suburbs from Phoenix and five from Tucson have the highest scores for rental availability, renter incomes and cost of living, among other factors.

Renters in Vail, Tanque Verde, and Gilbert have some of the largest and fastest-growing incomes, with Vail reaching more than $125,000 for its median renter household income.  

Overall, Vail is the best suburb in Arizona for single-family home renters in 2024, due to its high median income, high inventory of houses available to rent relative to its population, and high five-year renter income growth—but it is on the smaller side with 15,000 residents. 

Buckeye, a suburb of the Phoenix metropolitan area, comes in just behind Vail. 

It’s the fastest-growing suburb not just in the Phoenix area, but also in the entire state. Buckeye attracted more new residents than any other city in the US in 2017, 2018, and 2021.

El Mirage and Tanque Verde tied for third place, with spacious rentals—an average of more than five beds per rental home—high renter incomes, and high shares of single-family renters.

Build-to-rent

Point2 also analyzed the growing market of build-to-rent houses. 

Single-family rental communities are growing quickly, fueled by high demand as mortgage prices continue to grow farther out of reach for the middle class. 

According to Yardi Matrix data, a total of 27,500 homes for rent in the US were completed in 2023, with around 45,400 currently under construction. 

Build-to-rent communities are neighborhoods of detached, single-family or attached townhouse-style dwelling units that are specifically built to be rented rather than purchased.

The Phoenix metro comes out on top with 4,000+ houses for rent that came on the market in 2023, growing 164% from 2022 and hitting a 10-year high.

In 2023, there were 1,336 more build-to-rent homes completed in Phoenix than the city right behind it, Dallas. 

The boom in build-to-rent homes comes as developers are rushing to meet Arizona’s increased demand for housing and lack of units.

Maricopa County–containing the Phoenix metro area—was the fourth fastest-growing county in the United States in 2023, a drop from No. 1 in 2022, according to Census Bureau numbers. 

Pinal County, which contains the Tucson metro area, had the seventh-highest net gain in the country, gaining over 3,000 people from 2022 to 2023. 

READ MORE: How Harris’ housing plan lines up with Arizona’s crackdown on corporate landlords