What it's like to live in Douglas
Douglas is a small city in Arizona with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Douglas deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, larger class sizes than the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low crime rates
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- High poverty rate
- Hot summers
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Douglas compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Douglas
Based on Douglas's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,544
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $30,880 a year
- 40% of Douglas renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$31,540
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $15,770
- Homes cost 3.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 45% below US
$772/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $772 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $157,700. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $157,700 · 40% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Cochise County is 5.2%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Cochise County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 71% below US
96 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 1073/100k · Douglas Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
24 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.7 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 32°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 66% below US
12% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
15 public schools inside the boundary
There are 15 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 20:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Coronado National Memorial (42 miles away). There are 5 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Douglas's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($772/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Douglas
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