Arizona’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes—Desert View- and ASU-Area Rents on the Heels of Downtown Phoenix

Highlights

• The most expensive ZIP code in Arizona is 85003 in the Central City/Encanto area of Phoenix with an average rent of $1,576
• Only 6 Arizona ZIP codes top the $1,316 national average rent
• 85701 in Tucson is the most expensive ZIP code outside of Maricopa County

Although the average rent in Arizona was hovering around $947 at the end of Q1—quite far below the national average that hit $1,316 in May—, certain spots in the desert can yield generously for landlords. In fact, that statewide average is the result of a 5.8% year-over-year growth, one of the highest state-level growth rates in the country according to Yardi Matrix. If the trend continues uninterrupted, the average rent in Arizona will reach the $1,000 mark in a year or so.

The following interactive table includes the top 50 of Arizona’s most expensive ZIP codes.
Hint: click on the header of each column to sort the entries differently, and use the search box to filter the results.

Rental heatmaps continue to glow brighter in the Valley of the Sun than elsewhere in Arizona

With employers like Banner Health, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase & Co. or Intel, as well as the multitude of other points of interest, the fact that the areas with the highest rents form in and around the state capital doesn’t need much explanation. Only 6 Arizona ZIP codes top the national average, and these outline 3 distinct hotspots in the Phoenix Metro Area.

Standing out as Arizona’s most expensive ZIP code is 85003 in Phoenix with the average rent of $1,576. Its next-door neighbor, 85004 is hot on its heels with a $1,525 average, so it only makes sense to discuss them as a group. Together, they cover most of Downtown and a significant portion of the surrounding Central City and Encanto neighborhoods of the city. The good news for renters is that a spectacular inventory growth has kept a lid on rent growth. These two small zip codes have added more than 1,200 new units year-over-year through March and boosted their inventories by 53% and 85%, respectively. These were the largest relative inventory expansions in any ZIP code in Arizona—as a consequence, rents have only grown by 1% and 2%, respectively.

Rather than having just one runner-up, at the second place we can again talk about an area comprising three adjacent ZIP codes—85054 of Phoenix with an average rent of $1,423, along with 85255 and 85254 of Scottsdale with rents clocking in at $1,403  and $1,386, respectively. This cluster is located where the vast residential neighborhoods of Northern Scottsdale meet the stabilized suburbs of Phoenix’s Paradise Valley, and the Desert View area, where most of the rental inventory is made up of luxury communities.

Trailing close behind is 85281 in Tempe with an average rent of $1,345. Although it is technically the 6^th most expensive ZIP code, due to the peculiar way the previously mentioned ones outlined two distinct regions, we can consider it the third most expensive area in the state. It is the ZIP code with by far the largest amount of rental units, and for its size it is also growing at a rapid pace both in terms of rental stock and rent prices. Arizona State University’s campus is undoubtedly one of the key demand drivers in the area. The ZIP code posted a rent growth of 7% Y-o-Y through March, all while adding more than 1,200 new units and boosting the inventory by 9% to the current count of slightly over 14,700 apartment units.

Meanwhile, only 4 ZIP codes in Tucson have exceeded the statewide average rent of $947. These are 85701 in the El Presidio-Armory Park area with the average rent of $1,186, the 13^th highest in Arizona; 85719 surrounding the University of Arizona campus, with rents clocking in at $1,100, earning it 22^nd place; at #39 is 85737 of Oro Valley with exactly $1,000; and 85742 in Tortolita with the average rent of $966—the 46^th highest in the state.

85003 in Downtown Phoenix is the most expensive ZIP code in Arizona with an average rent of $1,576. Hover your cursor over the other states to see how their top contenders match up:

Methodology

• Data compilation, analysis, and mapping done by RentCafe using rent and construction data provided by Yardi Matrix, a RentCafe sister company.
• The average rent figures in this article were calculated from the actual rents charged in apartment buildings with at least 50 rental units, located in 125 U.S. markets, totaling approximately 15 million apartment units.
• ZIP codes with less than 200 rental units and less than 3 properties were excluded from the calculations.
• Rent prices are for apartments only, no single-family homes or townhomes were included.