Arizona

Arizona’s 8 Best Retirement Towns Ranked

Published

3 months ago

March 7, 2026

Arizona’s 8 Best Retirement Towns Ranked

If your idea of retirement includes near year-round sunshine and easy trips to bucket-list parks like Grand Canyon National Park and Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona has a lot going for it. Green Valley is a peaceful, retiree-friendly community where you can relax at Desert Meadows Park and play a round at San Ignacio Golf Club. For a completely different setting, Sedona turns even routine errands into a scenic drive, with red-rock views and quick access to places like Slide Rock State Park and the trail-filled stretches of Coconino National Forest. Below are eight of the best places to retire in the state.

Green Valley

Green Valley, Arizona

About 30 minutes south of Tucson, Green Valley is a quiet, welcoming community of roughly 21,000 residents. It is known for its laid-back atmosphere, strong sense of safety, and easy access to trails, parks, and classic Arizona mountain views. You can catch a performance at the CPAC Community Performance & Art Center, unwind at Desert Meadows Park, or spend an afternoon on the greens at nearby San Ignacio Golf Club.

Green Valley is also one of the most retirement-friendly communities in Arizona. The median age is in the low 70s, so it is easy to connect with people in the same stage of life. It is also relatively affordable, with a median home sale price around $277,833. For healthcare, residents are close to larger hospitals in Tucson, while Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita can usually handle everyday medical needs.

Fountain Hills

Fountain Hills has a true small-town feel, but it is close enough to the Phoenix metro area that big-city conveniences are never far away. Downtown Scottsdale is only about 25 minutes away, and the town itself has plenty to offer. You can see a show at Fountain Hills Theater, spend a relaxing afternoon at Fountain Park with its lake and walking paths, or bring your dog to Desert Vista Dog Park for a little sunshine and social time.

It is not the cheapest option on this list—median home prices are around $666,325—but many retirees feel the setting and convenience are worth the higher cost. Healthcare is another big plus, with highly regarded facilities nearby in Scottsdale and Phoenix, including HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center and Mayo Clinic Hospital. The median age is around 60, so there are plenty of fellow retirees and empty nesters in the area.

Oro Valley

Tucked into the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Oro Valley is a scenic suburb just north of Tucson. If staying active is part of your retirement plan, it is an excellent fit. Catalina State Park offers more than 5,000 acres for hiking and exploring, while Naranja Park has everything from a splash pad and skate park to a dog park and plenty of places to sit and enjoy the scenery. Honey Bee Canyon Park is another local favorite, especially for its rocky desert views and peaceful trails.

Homes here sell for a median price around $472,333, and residents also benefit from access to Oro Valley Hospital, which has earned recognition for outpatient joint replacement care. With a median age in the mid-50s, the town feels social and active without coming across as a retirement-only community.

Fortuna Foothills

If you like the idea of a desert retirement with a Palm Springs feel—but at a lower cost—Fortuna Foothills is worth considering. The community is close to the Colorado River, Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, and places like Fortuna Lake, where fishing is a popular pastime. Home prices in the Yuma area, where Fortuna Foothills is located, hover around a median of $306,333, making it one of the more affordable retirement options in Arizona.

The median age is about 62, so the area already has the feel of a natural retirement community. For healthcare, Yuma Regional Medical Center is nearby and has earned recognition for orthopedic surgery.

Sahuarita

Sahuarita is a strong choice if you want safe neighborhoods, well-maintained walking and biking paths, and an overall slower pace of life without giving up easy access to city conveniences. Tucson is less than 30 minutes to the north, so shopping, dining, and additional healthcare are all close by. In town, Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita is a major asset, and Banner University Medical Center in Tucson is another excellent option.

For fun, residents can visit the Titan Missile Museum for a fascinating look at Cold War history, tee off at San Ignacio Golf Club, or walk the paved trails at Parque Los Arroyos. Median home prices are around $360,800, which is relatively affordable for the region. Because the median age here is lower than in many retirement towns, Sahuarita tends to feel a little more energetic and mixed-age.

Wickenburg

Wickenburg is a great fit if you want a small-town atmosphere, a slower pace, and a strong sense of community without being too far removed from the Phoenix area. Phoenix is about an hour away, so you can still reach major amenities when needed. Locals spend time golfing at Wickenburg Ranch, birdwatching at the Hassayampa River Preserve, and attending events at the Everett Bowman Rodeo Arena.

Wickenburg Community Hospital is right in town and has served local residents for generations. The median age is around 64, making it easy to find a built-in network of people in the same stage of life. Zillow does not list a median sale price for homes here, but the median listing price is around $602,167—higher than some towns on this list, but not unusual for a desirable Arizona destination.

Sedona

If you want to retire surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery, Sedona is hard to beat. This artsy town in northern Arizona’s Verde Valley is famous for its red-rock landscapes, especially at sunrise and sunset, and it is packed with outdoor adventures. Coconino National Forest is right nearby, while Walnut Canyon National Monument offers ancient cliff dwellings and Slide Rock State Park is perfect for a more playful day outdoors.

For healthcare, Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood has served the area since 1971. Sedona’s median age is around 59, so retirees fit in naturally. Just be prepared for the cost: the median home sale price is about $956,125, making Sedona the most expensive town on this list.

Apache Junction

Apache Junction offers a true best-of-both-worlds setup. Downtown Phoenix is about 30 minutes away, and Mesa, Arizona’s third-largest city, is even closer. That gives residents a quieter and more affordable home base while still keeping major shopping, dining, and healthcare within easy reach.

Outdoor recreation is a big part of the appeal here, thanks to Lost Dutchman State Park and its rugged desert trails. Golfers also have excellent options nearby, including Gold Canyon Golf Course and Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club, both known for their dramatic scenery. Banner Goldfield Medical Center is right in town, and Mesa offers even more hospitals and specialists. The median age is around 54, and the median home price is about $369,083, which makes Apache Junction an appealing value for the greater Phoenix area.

Where to Retire in Arizona?

Arizona is one of the best states in the country for an active retirement, especially if you love spending time outdoors. The key is finding a town that gives you both easy access to trails and scenery, along with the practical essentials like hospitals, grocery stores, and shopping.

If you want a retirement-focused community that is still relatively affordable, Green Valley is a strong place to start. If you prefer small-town charm with quick access to Scottsdale and Phoenix, Fountain Hills deserves a look. And if parks, mountain views, and quality healthcare matter most, Oro Valley is tough to beat. Any of the eight towns on this list could be a great fit—it all comes down to the lifestyle and budget that suit you best.

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Arizona

Arizona State Adds Alabama Assistant Michael White To Coaching Staff

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Arizona State Adds Alabama Assistant Michael White To Coaching Staff

Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”

White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.

Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.

White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.

The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.

White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”

Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.

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Arizona

Racial equality in education: Arizona ranked 18th – KTAR.com

Published

12 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Racial equality in education: Arizona ranked 18th – KTAR.com

Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.

The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.

The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.

However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.

That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.

“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.

How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?

Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.

“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.

WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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Arizona

Judge orders Arizona couple to prison over Medicaid fraud

Published

22 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Judge orders Arizona couple to prison over Medicaid fraud

A Phoenix federal judge on June 1 gave a New River couple multi-year prison sentences for deliberately defrauding Arizona’s Medicaid program of $12 million.

Thvoughn Lynden Curry and his wife, A’lexis Daneen Curry, who were both 34 as of Feb. 1, according to the federal government, were first arrested in 2023 in connection with massive fraud that bilked Arizona’s Medicaid program out of an estimated $2.5 billion. The schemes disproportionately targeted vulnerable Native Americans trying to get sober from alcohol and drug dependence.

In some cases, patients were plied with drugs and alcohol while they stayed at so-called sober living homes to keep the scheme going. A class action lawsuit filed in 2024 alleges extreme harm and wrongful deaths from the schemes.

The couple received slightly different sentences connected with the same fraud scheme that involved their Mesa-based “1 Family Clinic, LLC” billing Medicaid for services they never provided.

During the June 1 sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow told Thvoughn that because of a prior criminal history, he will be going to prison for 7.3 years, while his wife will be imprisoned for a shorter time of 5.8 years. The couple has six children, including four that they had together, and three of the children are under age five, according to court records and testimony during the sentencing.

Snow told A’lexis Curry that he wished he could do something for her children, “but I don’t know how.” The crime she committed is just “too serious” and deserves a significant sentence of incarceration, he said.

Snow sentenced the Currys individually. He asked each if they had anything they wanted to say to the court, and both said no. Neither showed any emotion when they were sentenced.

The couple was out of custody and in street clothes during the sentencing, and Snow is allowing them to be at home with their family for 21 days before they must self-surrender and start serving their sentences.

The couple asked that they be incarcerated at a facility near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is in the vicinity of where A’lexis Curry’s mother lives and where their children will be staying.

Prosecutors say that when A’lexis applied to enroll as an Arizona Medicaid provider, there was a warrant out for Thvoughn’s arrest on felony fraud charges. A’lexis told Medicaid that she would be the sole owner of 1 Family Clinic, but investigators say Thvoughn was an owner, too.

Prosecutors said that between approximately Feb. 1, 2021, and March 31, 2023, the Currys routinely billed Arizona’s Medicaid program for services that were not actually provided. Throughout the course of the scheme, the Currys billed an average of more than 12 hours of service per member per day despite being open just eight hours per day on weekdays, five hours on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays, the government said.

Both were convicted Feb. 20 after a four-day bench trial of one count of conspiracy to commit health-care fraud, three counts of health-care fraud, and eight counts of transactional money laundering.

Snow ordered the duo to pay restitution of $12 million to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, known as AHCCCS, which is the state’s Medicaid program. Medicaid is a government health insurance program primarily for low-income people or those who have disabilities.

The husband and wife must also forfeit several properties to the U.S. government, including the nearly 4,000 square-foot six-bedroom, four-bathroom house where they have been living with their family. The home is valued at nearly $900,000.

Other items that the couple purchased with AHCCCS money included vacations, a 2021 Range Rover, a 2022 Mercedes LT GLE 43 C4 and a 2019 Lamborghini Urus for more than $300,000, prosecutors said. Federal court records indicate the couple filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2024.

Both the state of Arizona and the federal government have filed charges against multiple defendants in connection with the AHCCCS fraud, which was first disclosed to the public at a multi-agency press conference in 2023.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona has charged 12 defendants in cases related to the fraud, and at least seven, including the Curry couple, have already been sentenced. Thvoughn Curry received the longest sentence of any federal defendant to date, court records show.

Snow told Thvoughn that what he’d done was “quite dishonest and quite devastating.” It was also deliberate and went on for a long time, he said.

Among the federal defendants whose cases are still pending is Farrukh Jarar Ali, a 41-year-old citizen of Pakistan who was indicted in 2025 for wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged $650 million scheme involving at least 41 substance abuse treatment clinics in Arizona, prosecutors say.

Another federal defendant connected with the Arizona Medicaid schemes is Rita Anagho, a former nurse practitioner who, on May 29, 2025, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health-care fraud and wire fraud. Anagho also faced state charges and, on May 6 in Maricopa County Superior Court, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Anagho’s nursing license was revoked last year.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has indicted 140 individuals and entities connected to the widespread fraud and 41 individuals and entities have been convicted, the office reported in May.

Reach health-care reporter Stephanie Innes at stephanie.innes@usatodayco.com or follow her on X: @stephanieinnes or on Bluesky: @stephanieinnes.bsky.social.

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