Which Arizona counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 15 Arizona counties we have scored, Cochise County scores highest at 77 and Maricopa County lowest at 50. Arizona ranks 48th of 50 overall, at 63 out of 100 (Major concerns). Buildability separates its counties most: 3 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 15 counties · 210 spots of private rural land scored

Major concernsArizona ranks 48th of 50, 63 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #46 and #49. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Arizona, best score first

Find a county15 counties


Cochise → 20 people / sq mi	77	9	20	15	14	9	10
Apache → 6 people / sq mi	74	10	17	15	15	7	10
Greenlee → 5 people / sq mi	74	14	17	15	15	8	5
Santa Cruz → 40 people / sq mi	74	13	19	15	12	9	6
Yavapai → 31 people / sq mi	71	7	18	15	15	9	7
Graham → 9 people / sq mi	70	11	17	15	13	7	7
Mohave → 17 people / sq mi	69	10	17	13	14	5	10
Gila → 11 people / sq mi	67	14	18	14	12	6	3
Navajo → 11 people / sq mi	63	2	16	15	15	6	9
Pima → 116 people / sq mi	63	5	17	11	13	7	10
Pinal → 90 people / sq mi	61	1	20	10	13	7	10
Coconino → 8 people / sq mi	59	2	16	15	15	4	7
Yuma → 39 people / sq mi	53	5	14	10	13	2	9
La Paz → 4 people / sq mi	52	9	15	10	13	2	3
Maricopa → 498 people / sq mi	50	0	17	10	11	2	10

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

4% of Arizona's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Cochise, Apache and Greenlee. The weakest are Maricopa, La Paz and Yuma. Where the land falls short, it is most often on water (rain, wells and salty or weak wells) and growing food (season, soil and water for crops).

What separates them

Buildability: Cochise County scores 10 of 10, La Paz County 3. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Water: Greenlee County scores 14 of 25, Maricopa County 0. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.
Food: Cochise County scores 9 of 15, Maricopa County 2. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Solar: Cochise County scores 15 of 15, Maricopa County 10. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.
Legal: Cochise County scores 20 of 20, Yuma County 14. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.
Hazard: Apache County scores 15 of 15, Maricopa County 11. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.

The state's soft spot

Water is Arizona's weakest dimension, at 5 of 25 for the state as a whole. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $35k to $113k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Arizona row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Arizona

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Arizona? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Major concernsArizona: 63 of 100, 48th of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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