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Sedona, AZ

Population: 10,209 livability score shield

Key findings

  • Sedona has a Livability Score of 72/100, which is considered excellent
  • Sedona crime rates are 62% lower than the Arizona average
  • Cost of living in Sedona is 34% higher than the Arizona average
  • Sedona real estate prices are 137% higher than the Arizona average
  • Rental prices in Sedona are 32% higher than the Arizona average

Best Places to Live in and Around Sedona

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Compare Sedona, AZ Livability

      vs

      What do the locals think about Sedona?

      63%Family friendly 25%Public transit is accessible 38%Walkable to grocery stores 56%Yards are well-kept 50%Lots of parks 50%Walkable to restaurants 63%Friendly neighbors 75%Safe at night 56%Pet friendly 44%Streets have sidewalks 63%A quiet area 63%Sense of community
      Based on 16 votes from AreaVibes users. See all Sedona poll results.

      Sedona Real estate & Rental prices

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      Sedona Demographics

      Population10,209 Median Age58.3 Have Kids (under 18)22%
      See more Sedona demographic data

      Top Rated Schools in Sedona

      Name Grades Students Proficiency
      Sedona Red Rock Junior/Senior High School7 - 12435n/a
      Vacte - Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified School District9 - 12n/an/a
      Sedona Integrated PreschoolPK - PKn/an/a
      Sedona Charter SchoolKG - 8151n/a
      Red Rock Academy9 - 1228n/a
      Big Park Community SchoolPK - 6193n/a
      Verde Valley School9 - 12120n/a
      West Sedona Elementary SchoolPK - 6299n/a
      See all Sedona schools

      The best places in Arizona

      Here are the best places to live in Arizona10 Best cities in Arizona for employmentCheck out the 10 safest cities in ArizonaSee the best places to live in & around Sedona

      Sedona Reviews

      Write a review about Sedona Tell people what you like or don't like about Sedona…
      Very Nice - Depending.
      Attractions8/10
      Community10/10
      Nightlife?/10
      Dining8/10
      Shopping4/10
      I lived in Sedona for 5 years between 2013 and 2018. I did not have to work and I am REALLY into hiking and nature, and not at all into nightlife - so for someone like me - it was awesome.

      I considered a few different communities but due to warmth of the people, decided to make Sedona home. During my first long term stay (before moving there) I couldn't find my vacation rental after dark (It is very dark in Sedona at night) so I knocked on a stranger's door to ask directions, and was invited by the woman inside to stay the night (we eventually found my place together). I couldn't find it because I'd read the address wrong - this prompted me to make a long overdue appointment with an optometrist - he then invited me to a lovely dinner party his wife was hosting that Friday night. Things like this are constantly happening in Sedona. I think it attracts open minded people from all over the country who are interested in others. I see some other reviewers have different feelings about this, but that was my constant experience.

      Like I mentioned before I LOVE hiking, running, fitness and nature. I was in Sedona 5 years and maybe covered 20% of the trails the area has to offer. It's amazing it's different in every season and every time of day, you can not over-exaggerate the beauty of the area.

      If you are looking for nightlife - do not come here. The streets roll up at 8PM, period. The average age is 69 in West Sedona and 74 in the Village (where I lived). I did meet my husband while living here, but it was online and he lived 3 hours away so....

      If you need to drive at a certain time of day (like to work for example) you will probably hate the traffic, it can get very bad because there are one lane roads in and out of town. If you are retired or temporarily retired or work from home, it's not really a problem.

      I don't know anything about the public schools, just that they have a hard time staying open since there are so few school aged kids.

      Cost of housing was good when I bought in 2013 at the tail end of the Housing Crash but now it's once again pretty expensive and in short supply.

      Due to the gobs of tourists year round, Sedona has amenities you would never usually find in a town of it's size. There is wonderful dining, an Independent Theater (Mary Fisher) which screens independent films and hosts an annual Film Festival that is really great. It is also less than an hour away from other unique and interesting towns such as Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Jerome, Camp Verde. There is a lot of variety and a lot to keep you occupied in the area.

      If you are considering moving here, I suggest you do not need to work or have a job that allows you to work from anywhere. I also suggest that you come for a month and try before you buy so to speak, that was what I did and I was sold.
      • Anonymous (Former resident)
      • Mar 25, 2019
      9 0
      Do a lot of research before moving to Sedona!
      Attractions5/10
      Community1/10
      Nightlife1/10
      Dining1/10
      Shopping1/10
      I've lived in the Sedona area my entire life (40+ years). I have seen so many changes, and none for the better. 1) Local Government/Real Estate - Sedona continually has tax increases, supposedly to help alleviate the heavy traffic issues, but nothing has really been done so far. Roundabouts were installed, but I think they've only caused more problems than solutions and are very nerve-racking and dangerous. I've seen numerous people stopping half way round or completely going the wrong way. There have even been some people who don't yield and have almost caused accidents. My job commute is 9 miles (Village of Oak Creek to West Sedona) and I have to leave my house an hour early just to make it to work on time, getting back home is no different. The Real Estate market has been a bit off lately, the demand for property is high, but the inventory is low, which makes the prices a lot higher. And with higher prices comes higher property taxes.2) Job Market - There really are no decent paying jobs in the area, most are minimum wage and deal with either hospitality or tourism. Even with two full time jobs, you still would not be able to live by yourself comfortably, I've tried. There is little to no opportunity for growth, unless you commute to and from Phoenix for work, which is about 2 hours away.3) Landscape/Attractions/Tourism - The red rocks are beautiful to see and Sedona is a great place to visit, when you can take your time and mosey about. I feel sorry for those who were sucked in by the spiritual "vortex" tours though, 20 years ago, there was no such thing as a vortex. It became a blatant lie for some to make a profit. Other area attractions like Slide Rock and Grasshopper Point are not worth going to anymore. The water in Oak Creek has become contaminated and there is often garbage scattered everywhere. When I was younger, we would enjoy a day trip to Slide Rock or Grasshopper Point and it didn't cost anything. Now, you need a "Red Rock Pass" and have to pay, which is sad. Tourism has greatly degraded Sedona to the point where the locals completely avoid all the areas we use to love. Many of the trails are often overrun with people constantly which makes mountain biking and hiking more challenging. There are lot of yoga and meditation sessions if you're into that sort of thing.4) Family - This area is not the best place to raise children. The schools are sub-par. Sedona takes more pride in how the town looks rather than focus on education or anything else for that matter. There is really nothing for children to do here other than hike or mountain bike. We have a movie theater and Cottonwood has a skate park. I see most of the teenagers in Cottonwood hanging out in either the Walmart parking lot or the Food City parking lot because they have nothing to do.5) Night Life - Absolutely none. The whole town closes down between 8pm and 9pm, Cottonwood is no different.Shopping - We have a few stores, mostly grocery and heath food. There are numerous overpriced clothing and trinket stores as well. For any day to day shopping, you need to commute to Cottonwood, Flagstaff or Prescott.6) Community - Most people I've encountered are very self-centered and stuck up. If you don't make over $500,000 a year and walk with your nose in the air, don't expect a warm welcome...unless you're buying something. Many of the hippies/crystal crunchers are nice enough, though some are very strange and unnerving sometimes. In my neighborhood, if you don't live on the golf course or play golf, you're a nobody and ever so often get a dirty look. I recently got a new 2017 Mustang and my neighbors have complained because it wasn't a BMW or Porsche. Sedona has become a very materialistic place full of people who are under the impression that they are better than everyone else. Every now and then you will find some nice people, but most will only be nice if they benefit in some way.7) Weather - The weather is great if you don't like moisture. The sun shines nearly all year round, so sunglasses and sunscreen are a must! Our seasons usually can't make up their minds, this year has been very very dry and our winter has felt like spring. Be prepared to dust everything in your house numerous times a week, all the dryness tends to cause a lot of dirt to kick up, especially on windy days. The temperature varies quite a bit all year round. Some winters, it can be as low as in the 20s overnight until around 1pm when the temperature gets up in the 60s or 70s, so dress in layers! Summers can be brutal, the sun is not forgiving and over time will deteriorate your car, especially soft convertible tops and uncovered dashes.8) Wildlife - There are a lot of animals running around, and I don't mean strays. Coyotes and javelina are the main ones that are always running around, they don't bother anyone most of the time, unless they have rabies, which is rare. There are snakes, rattle snakes, king snakes, bull snakes, garter snakes, all kind of snakes! They usually don't harm anyone unless they are provoked. Scorpions, tarantulas and black widow spiders are present too and sometimes like to invite themselves into your home to say hi. There are many different beautiful birds in the area, so if you're a bird enthusiast, this is a great place to bird watch if you can find a place quiet enough. Sedona offers all kinds of desert dwelling critters.9) Dining - There are several restaurants to choose from. It all depends on how much you're willing to spend. Sedona is mostly Italian food or Mexican food. There are very few Chinese or American food restaurants. There is one McDonald's and one Burger King, those are obviously the quickest and cheapest. There are also quite a few fine dining restaurants, some with usually over an hour wait just to be seated, and they cost a pretty penny. There are also, many wineries in the area along with some breweries.My advice before moving to Sedona - Do a lot of research, visit often and at different times of the year, and talk to other locals that have actually been here for more than 20 years. It really depends on your lifestyle and what you want. I have been trying to save up enough money to move out of here, which hasn't been easy, but if your lifestyle fits, you will probably enjoy living in Sedona.
      • 5pectre
      • Feb 03, 2018
      7 -7
      LACK OF DIGNITY!
      Attractions9/10
      Community1/10
      Nightlife6/10
      Dining6/10
      Shopping9/10
      This true story is reviewed just to warn other people NOT to get frustrated by some people claiming to live ego-less and with love in Sedona!The owners of Vince Auto body and Red Rock Collision in Sedona, facing each other, permitted and agreed to keep an acquaintance, Jean-Marie Voccola with her homicide friend, for a Trespassing wait in their body shop for more than 2 hours. That day, Jean-Marie Voccola was not their customer or not related with any body shop repairs. There were no other customers so ever, waiting to be helped more than 2 hours. The weather was decent enough that the owners should easily ask to wait them outside for what they had planned to do! Jean-Marie Voccola aggressively insisted to take this event outside the shop, when the owners have just been mere spectators. Even, the necessary repair forms were left unfinished behind. The event escalated to a Police scene when Jean-Marie Voccola's homicide friend tried to attack to threaten life just in front of the body shop. Obviously, Police didn't buy the delusional accusation of Jean-Marie Voccola and her homicide friend. Later, Jean-Marie Voccola continued to pursue a fictional revenge out of nothing, manipulating the other ways same like she did the body shop. As a result of her negligence for an empty revenge caused almost 2 times death and finally left a handicap behind!If you want to read more about Sad this unfortunate true story, please click the profile!Jean-Marie claimed a sexual assault with her homicide friend outside the body shops. Police did not buy this delusional accusation since a night before Jean-Marie had kindly been asked to kiss on the lips shown to her from a large distance but she had refused to kiss despite of all her prior teasing. As a result of this she had been abandoned. Then, she couldn’t digest it and she decided to take an empty revenge ended leaving behind a handicap due to her negligent revenge by delusional claims.Jean-Marie first claimed a theft to police. She had lost her ID cards days before and she asked help since she could not find it by herself because she could not bend down to search due to her regularly hurting legs. However, that night she could easily bend down to water her plants. Despite all efforts her ID has not been found. She had to take the responsibility of loosing her ID out of her own recklessness and she should search it by herself. Next day, she claimed her ID as stolen to Police in order to use that as a cop out for her empty revenge. Later, she got more delusional and sent Police to the house to search legally her ID instead of simply going to ADOT to declare it lost and obtain a new one. Police had searched the house and evidently her ID has not been found.When she has faced her malicious trick did not work, she came with another delusional malicious idea in order to try more to pursue better her fictitious sick revenge. She tried to press sexual assault charges claiming she had been forced to sex. The truth was, 2 nights before, she had returned from bathroom almost naked and she had lain her face down not to let to be kissed. She had immediately been refused and left untouched. She had been kindly told that it was better idea just to sleep separately instead of having sex. She reacted weirdly seeming aggressively insisting for it but finally she had to accept to get refused.Later, she claimed to Police that she was not feeling secure enough in her house even though she had a strong male living as roommate. She came with an assumption that this person could mentally be unstable and she was afraid to be disturbed.So, he ended up in hospital. He had faced 2 times possible death because his blood pressure decreased to 60 and he also fell down since he had blacked out.Later, he had to live all his life as a handicap due to 3-disk hernia that couldn’t be operable because they had been developed on very sensitive nerve spots on the spine.Hope Jean-Marie has learned at least a lesson out of this? No one has right legally to manipulate others to take an empty revenge out of dignity just because her ego hurt being abandoned and being refused. She has to search her reasons inside her and correct them for her next relationships instead of attacking others to take empty revenges just to satisfy her ego without thinking the unfortunate consequences which could even cause somebody's death.
      • Khai
      • Jan 17, 2018
      3 -29
      Seriously, do NOT move here!
      Attractions3/10
      Community2/10
      Nightlife1/10
      Dining1/10
      Shopping1/10
      If you're still working, the only jobs are in tourism. The pay is low and housing costs are high. If you're retired, you're not going to like the crowds of tourists, noise, and traffic. There are helicopters flying all around and people can ride ATV's on the roads here. The scenery is beautiful, but greed has totally RUINED this area. If you are a hippie or weirdo of any kind, you'll probably like it here. You can just crash in your van and not worry about showering. I seriously regret moving here, and plan on leaving the second my lease is up. By the way, it's nearly impossible to find housing in Sedona. The people of Sedona want the "worker bees" to commute from Cottonwood. Do yourself a favor and choose another place to live. By the way, the whole "vortex thing" is just a big money-making scheme designed to prey upon the vulnerable and gullible.
      • Tug
      • Oct 18, 2017
      3 -4
      This is tourist town, not a place to live
      Attractions5/10
      Community1/10
      Nightlife2/10
      Dining2/10
      Shopping3/10
      If you are thinking of moving to Sedona, think twice. This is a tourist town, not a place to live. If you are ill it is impossible to secure a physician and even one that actually care. The doctor offices are a mere walk in clinic. All for one and one for all is not a thing you should say. Please re consider your move to Sedona, just come to visit.
      • Annette Varanese
      • Oct 28, 2016
      2 0
      Sedona is a beautiful place to visit but not Live
      Attractions6/10
      Community1/10
      Nightlife1/10
      Dining1/10
      Shopping5/10
      I had been visiting Sedona since the 80's and finally moved there but only stayed for a year. I never tired of the beautiful scenic red rock mountains but the town is an odd place to live. The everyday cost of living is very high due to it being such a small tourist trap. The weather is not a "F" like Area Vibes posts but beautiful in that there are 4 mild seasons and even a hot Summer day turns into a cooler night. The nightlife is very minimal and it is very dark driving at night. The round abouts that the town spent so much to build really effect the driving experience and were totally unnecessary. There a many spiritual group "cults" that have settled here and their energy is not positive towards new people moving here. My advice is stick to yourself, hike and mediate but avoid the drama of the town of Sedona.
      • Shana
      • Mar 12, 2016
      5 0
      Source: The Sedona, AZ data and statistics displayed above are derived from the 2016 United States Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS).
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