Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate

San Luis, AZ had the highest unemployment rate of 32 cities in May 2026, at 28%. Gilbert, AZ had the lowest, at 3.6%. The median was 4.45% and the figure for Arizona was 4.8%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest28San Luis, AZ
Lowest3.6Gilbert, AZ
Median4.4532 cities
Arizona4.8History

All cities, May 2026

San Luis, AZ: 28 %San Luis, AZ28Yuma, AZ: 11.3 %Yuma, AZ11.3Bullhead City, AZ: 6.5 %Bullhead City, AZ6.5Sierra Vista, AZ: 5.5 %Sierra Vista, AZ5.5Casa Grande, AZ: 5.2 %Casa Grande, AZ5.2Lake Havasu City, AZ: 5.2 %Lake Havasu City, AZ5.2Kingman, AZ: 5.1 %Kingman, AZ5.1Prescott, AZ: 5.1 %Prescott, AZ5.1Apache Junction, AZ: 5 %Apache Junction, AZ5Buckeye, AZ: 4.9 %Buckeye, AZ4.9Oro Valley, AZ: 4.9 %Oro Valley, AZ4.9Flagstaff, AZ: 4.8 %Flagstaff, AZ4.8Tucson, AZ: 4.8 %Tucson, AZ4.8Goodyear, AZ: 4.6 %Goodyear, AZ4.6Maricopa, AZ: 4.5 %Maricopa, AZ4.5Sahuarita, AZ: 4.5 %Sahuarita, AZ4.5Prescott Valley, AZ: 4.4 %Prescott Valley, AZ4.4Surprise, AZ: 4.4 %Surprise, AZ4.4Avondale, AZ: 4.3 %Avondale, AZ4.3Fountain Hills, AZ: 4.3 %Fountain Hills, AZ4.3Glendale, AZ: 4.3 %Glendale, AZ4.3Peoria, AZ: 4.3 %Peoria, AZ4.3Tempe, AZ: 4.1 %Tempe, AZ4.1El Mirage, AZ: 4 %El Mirage, AZ4Marana, AZ: 4 %Marana, AZ4Mesa, AZ: 4 %Mesa, AZ4Phoenix, AZ: 4 %Phoenix, AZ4Queen Creek, AZ: 3.9 %Queen Creek, AZ3.9Florence, AZ: 3.8 %Florence, AZ3.8Chandler, AZ: 3.7 %Chandler, AZ3.7Scottsdale, AZ: 3.7 %Scottsdale, AZ3.7Gilbert, AZ: 3.6 %Gilbert, AZ3.6San Luis, AZ: 28 %San Luis, AZ28Yuma, AZ: 11.3 %Yuma, AZ11.3Bullhead City, AZ: 6.5 %Bullhead City, AZ6.5Sierra Vista, AZ: 5.5 %Sierra Vista, AZ5.5Casa Grande, AZ: 5.2 %Casa Grande, AZ5.2Lake Havasu City, AZ: 5.2 %Lake Havasu City, AZ5.2Kingman, AZ: 5.1 %Kingman, AZ5.1Prescott, AZ: 5.1 %Prescott, AZ5.1Apache Junction, AZ: 5 %Apache Junction, AZ5Buckeye, AZ: 4.9 %Buckeye, AZ4.9Oro Valley, AZ: 4.9 %Oro Valley, AZ4.9Flagstaff, AZ: 4.8 %Flagstaff, AZ4.8Tucson, AZ: 4.8 %Tucson, AZ4.8Goodyear, AZ: 4.6 %Goodyear, AZ4.6Maricopa, AZ: 4.5 %Maricopa, AZ4.5Sahuarita, AZ: 4.5 %Sahuarita, AZ4.5Prescott Valley, AZ: 4.4 %Prescott Valley, AZ4.4Surprise, AZ: 4.4 %Surprise, AZ4.4Avondale, AZ: 4.3 %Avondale, AZ4.3Fountain Hills, AZ: 4.3 %Fountain Hills, AZ4.3Glendale, AZ: 4.3 %Glendale, AZ4.3Peoria, AZ: 4.3 %Peoria, AZ4.3Tempe, AZ: 4.1 %Tempe, AZ4.1El Mirage, AZ: 4 %El Mirage, AZ4Marana, AZ: 4 %Marana, AZ4Mesa, AZ: 4 %Mesa, AZ4Phoenix, AZ: 4 %Phoenix, AZ4Queen Creek, AZ: 3.9 %Queen Creek, AZ3.9Florence, AZ: 3.8 %Florence, AZ3.8Chandler, AZ: 3.7 %Chandler, AZ3.7Scottsdale, AZ: 3.7 %Scottsdale, AZ3.7Gilbert, AZ: 3.6 %Gilbert, AZ3.6
%. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCitiesMay 2026 (%)Change on May 2025
1San Luis, AZ28+2.7 pts
2Yuma, AZ11.3+1.3 pts
3Bullhead City, AZ6.5+1.4 pts
4Sierra Vista, AZ5.5+0.8 pts
5Casa Grande, AZ5.2+0.6 pts
5Lake Havasu City, AZ5.2+0.6 pts
7Kingman, AZ5.1+0.7 pts
7Prescott, AZ5.1+0.5 pts
9Apache Junction, AZ5+0.2 pts
10Buckeye, AZ4.9+0.5 pts
10Oro Valley, AZ4.9+0.8 pts
12Flagstaff, AZ4.8+0.8 pts
12Tucson, AZ4.8+0.6 pts
14Goodyear, AZ4.6+0.6 pts
15Maricopa, AZ4.5+0.4 pts
15Sahuarita, AZ4.5+0.5 pts
17Prescott Valley, AZ4.4+0.6 pts
17Surprise, AZ4.4+0.6 pts
19Avondale, AZ4.3+0.3 pts
19Fountain Hills, AZ4.3+0.5 pts
19Glendale, AZ4.3+0.3 pts
19Peoria, AZ4.3+0.6 pts
23Tempe, AZ4.1+0.4 pts
24El Mirage, AZ4+0.3 pts
24Marana, AZ4+0.4 pts
24Mesa, AZ4+0.4 pts
24Phoenix, AZ4+0.3 pts
28Queen Creek, AZ3.9+0.6 pts
29Florence, AZ3.8+0.2 pts
30Chandler, AZ3.7+0.3 pts
30Scottsdale, AZ3.7+0.4 pts
32Gilbert, AZ3.6+0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over.
  • EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74.
  • United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states, counties and cities.
  • United Kingdom regions: Labour Force Survey, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted.
  • Canada: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the country and the provinces.
  • Australia: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the nation and the six states; the ABS publishes no seasonally adjusted series for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
  • New Zealand: Household Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted for the country and not seasonally adjusted for regional council areas.
  • Norway: Statistics Norway Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted monthly figures.
  • Sweden: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted and smoothed (the series Statistics Sweden gives in its monthly release), national.
  • Switzerland: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), ILO definition, permanent resident population aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, national.
  • For other countries, the source may be OECD survey-based rates, annual survey-based rates compiled by the ILO in ILOSTAT, or annual ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank.
  • ILO modelled estimates cover ages 15 and over.
  • The World series uses those ILO modelled estimates.

Survey-based for national and Eurostat series. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states, US counties, US cities (those of 25,000 or more and smaller New England cities), United Kingdom regions, Canadian provinces, Australia and its six states, New Zealand with 10 of its regions, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (national), not Spanish municipalities. For Spanish municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03) (Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate, 2026-05) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate, 2026-05. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/arizona-cities?period=2026-05. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate, 2026-05. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/arizona-cities?period=2026-05.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate, 2026-05 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/arizona-cities?period=2026-05 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_arizona_by_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate, 2026-05}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/arizona-cities?period=2026-05. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate, 2026-05
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/arizona-cities?period=2026-05
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/arizona-cities?period=2026-05.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Cities in Arizona by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployment rate?

San Luis, AZ, with 28% in May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployment rate?

Gilbert, AZ, with 3.6% in May 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Cities in Arizona: more rankings