Pros and Cons of Living in Buckeye
Buckeye's core trade-off pairs a genuinely more affordable Phoenix-metro entry point and real long-term growth capacity against a significant, disclosed groundwater constraint, a comparatively higher sales tax rate, and still-developing (not yet complete) in-city healthcare infrastructure.
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Learn morePro: real affordability and real growth capacity
Buckeye's $399,772 median sale price (June 2026) runs below the national median and below both Gilbert's and Queen Creek's figures researched in this same session, and the city is only ~16.7% built out -- genuine room to grow, unlike build-out-constrained suburbs elsewhere in this dataset.
Pro: a distinctive master-planned-community identity and a favorable crime picture
Verrado, Sundance, and Tartesso offer real variety, and Teravalis represents a much larger next chapter. NeighborhoodScout cites Buckeye's crime rate as near the national average and "one of the lowest in the nation for its size."
Con: a real, disclosed groundwater constraint
A 2023 ADWR determination halted some planned subdivisions (including phases of Teravalis) pending alternative water sources -- a genuine, ongoing consideration for anyone buying into a still-developing part of the city, not a resolved issue.
Con: a higher sales tax rate and still-expanding healthcare infrastructure
Buckeye's 9.3% combined sales tax rate runs higher than Gilbert's or Queen Creek's, and no full-service hospital currently sits inside city limits -- the nearest, Abrazo West Campus, is in neighboring Goodyear, though new medical facilities are actively being added.
Key takeaways
- Pro: a genuinely more affordable Phoenix-metro entry point ($399,772 median sale price) and real, disclosed growth capacity (only ~16.7% built out).
- Pro: a distinctive choice among master-planned communities (Verrado, Sundance, Tartesso, and the much larger Teravalis underway) and a favorable, NeighborhoodScout-corroborated crime picture.
- Con: a real, disclosed 2023 ADWR groundwater constraint affecting some still-developing subdivisions -- confirm a target property's water-supply status directly.
- Con: a higher 9.3% combined sales tax rate than Gilbert or Queen Creek, and still-expanding (not yet complete) in-city healthcare infrastructure -- the nearest full-service hospital is in neighboring Goodyear.
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