Living in Fort Defiance, AZ
Fort Defiance is a small town of 3,351 people in Apache County, Arizona. It's about 85 miles from Farmington, NM and 228 miles from Phoenix, AZ, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 88°F and winter highs 45°F, with about 24 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $37k and rent runs about $856 a month.
3,351people
$37kTypical home
$856/moRent
88° / 45°Summer / winter
24"Snow
302Sunny days
76Rain/snow days
Is Fort Defiance right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 3,351
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 523 people per sq mi
- 228 mi to Phoenix, AZ
- 85 mi to Farmington, NM
- 24 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $37k (≈$236/mo)
- Median rent $856/mo
- Median household income $56k
- Property tax about 1.5% of value
- 11.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 88°F
- Winter highs around 45°F
- Dry summers (dew point 39°F)
- 302 sunny days a year (158 totally clear)
- 63 cloudy days a year
- 23 of 90 winter days are gray
- 76 days a year with rain or snow
- 24" of snow a year
- 9 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 32 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
People
- Median age 32
- 34% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 7% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 7% walk or take transit to work
- 23 mi to GUP airport
- 147 mi to ABQ (major hub)
- 24 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 71% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1980
- 68% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 6,802 ft
- 390 mi to the ocean
- 133 mi to a big lake
- 20 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 121 mi to the nearest ski area
- 19 mi to the nearest campground
- No golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 37 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 6 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 3 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 18 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 14% of Arizona districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 113 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 84 mi to the nearest vet
- 24 mi to the nearest dog park
- 2 congregations per 10k people
- 26 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Apache County: D+19 in 2024
- Arizona: R+6 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- High drought risk
- Low winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk