What it's like to live in San Luis
San Luis is a small city in Arizona with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, crime rates well below the national average, and a population that has grown fast since 2020. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. San Luis deals with unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and college degree attainment below the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low crime rates
- Fast-growing population
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- High poverty rate
How San Luis compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to San Luis
Based on San Luis's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,482
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $29,640 a year
- 34% of San Luis renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$44,980
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $22,490
- 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▼ 48% below US
$741/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $741 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 $224,900. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $224,900 · 34% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▲ 442% above US
23.3% unemployment
Unemployment here is 23.3%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 74% below US
85 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 512/100k · San Luis Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 26.9 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 7% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 105°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 48°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 74% below US
9% 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
12 public schools inside the boundary
There are 12 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 27:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Bottom line
San Luis's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($741/mo) equals 15% of the median household income here, less than 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 moving without a job lined up, anyone who doesn't drive, and people who struggle with heat.
Other places near San Luis
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