PlainFoodAccess

State food-access profile · 15 counties

Food access in Arizona

How far Arizona residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

26.8%
low-access pop.
257
food-desert tracts
10.4%
on SNAP
15
counties

The statewide picture

About 1.7M Arizona residents - 26.8% - live in a low-access area, and 257 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

1.7M
low-access residents
555K
food-desert residents
5.4%
households, no vehicle
12.5%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Arizona stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Arizona is ringed. Click any state to compare.

AK 31 ME 13 VT 11 NH 28 WA 23 ID 26 MT 22 ND 29 MN 27 IL 20 WI 21 MI 23 NY 12 RI 24 MA 28 OR 17 NV 23 WY 30 SD 29 IA 20 IN 29 OH 25 PA 21 NJ 24 CT - CA 13 UT 24 CO 22 NE 22 MO 25 KY 20 WV 21 VA 20 MD 23 DE 27 AZ 27 NM 32 KS 26 AR 25 TN 27 NC 23 SC 29 DC 5 OK 25 LA 26 MS 26 AL 25 GA 31 HI 27 TX 25 FL 25

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Arizona against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 15 counties and 7.4M residents, Arizona's population-weighted low-access share is 26.8%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 257 tracts in Arizona, home to roughly 555K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 10.4% of households, and 5.4% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

15
Counties
26.8%
Low-access (pop-weighted)
1.7M
Low-access residents
10.4%
Avg. SNAP

Highest low-access counties in Arizona

Share of the population living in low-access areas, by county

% low-access
Source USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas As of 2019 edition

All counties in Arizona

County Low-accessSNAP
Apache County 54.7% 30.5%
La Paz County 53.4% 11.6%
Mohave County 45.9% 13.1%
Pinal County 45.7% 10.8%
Navajo County 44.5% 22.2%
Cochise County 43.9% 14.9%
Graham County 39.6% 16.3%
Santa Cruz County 36.3% 23.9%
Yavapai County 35.8% 8.2%
Greenlee County 32.9% 5.7%
Coconino County 32.5% 10.6%
Pima County 28.6% 12.1%
Gila County 28.2% 14.6%
Yuma County 24.7% 18.3%
Maricopa County 20.8% 8.6%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

  • 26.8% of Arizona residents, about 1.7M people, live in a low-access area.
  • 257 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 555K low-income, low-access residents.
  • 10.4% of households receive SNAP, and 5.4% have no vehicle.
  • Apache County has the state's highest low-access share at 54.7%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Arizona has low food access?▼
26.8% of Arizona residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).
How many food deserts are in Arizona?▼
257 census tracts in Arizona are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 555K low-income residents.
What is the SNAP participation rate in Arizona?▼
Across Arizona counties, an average of 10.4% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.
Which county in Arizona has the worst food access?▼
Apache County has the highest low-access share in Arizona at 54.7%, with 30.5% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage).

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