Living in Gilbert, AZ

Maricopa County

Gilbert's identity runs through two real, verified, and genuinely distinctive facts rather than a generic "Phoenix suburb" label. First, Gilbert is legally incorporated as a TOWN, not a city, under Arizona law -- and it is the most populous incorporated town in the entire United States, larger than many cities nationally including neighboring Chandler and Scottsdale in this dataset, while repeatedly stating it has "no plans to become a city." That town status carries real, if subtle, consequences: Arizona towns hold less regulatory authority over utilities and construction than cities do. Second, and worth stating precisely rather than assuming still true: Gilbert was genuinely the fastest-growing municipality in the ENTIRE United States from 1990 to 2003, and it has been cited among the nation's fastest-rising cities as recently as a November 2023 FinanceBuzz ranking (2nd fastest-rising nationally) -- but that hypergrowth era has real, measurable, and expected limits. Every current source reviewed describes Gilbert as "approaching build-out," with a projected top-out population around 330,000 by roughly 2030, and current annual growth estimates (roughly 1.5%-3.0%/yr depending on source) run well below the town's historic pace. This is a genuinely different growth phase -- a maturing, geographically-constrained suburb -- not still-explosive expansion, disclosed directly per this research rather than assumed from Gilbert's older reputation. Gilbert is consistently cited as Arizona's safest city/town (1st in the state, 31st nationally of 182 municipalities per the same WalletHub-derived survey cited for Chandler and Scottsdale elsewhere in this dataset), with a genuinely affluent demographic profile (median household income $122,551) and strong school-district grades -- though education here is a real, disclosed multi-district picture: Gilbert Public Schools (Niche grade A, #8 in Arizona) and Higley Unified School District (#11 in Arizona) both serve parts of the town, with individual flagship high schools ranking more middling (#91 and #106 in the state, respectively) than the strong district-level grades alone would suggest. Housing runs a genuine premium (a $579,685 median sale price in June 2026, roughly 42% above the national median), offset by a comparatively low 0.47% effective property tax rate. As with the rest of the Phoenix metro, this is a low-desert market: extreme summer heat, monsoon-season flash flooding and dust storms, and Arizona's 2.5% flat state income tax (not a no-income-tax framing) all apply here as described in this dataset's Arizona state record.

Explore Gilbert in depth

• Moving to Gilbert: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Gilbert
• Housing Market in Gilbert
• Buying a Home in Gilbert
• Renting in Gilbert
• Taxes in Gilbert
• Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Gilbert
• Climate & Weather in Gilbert
• Jobs & Economy in Gilbert
• Schools in Gilbert
• Crime & Safety in Gilbert
• Healthcare in Gilbert
• Traffic & Transportation in Gilbert
• Best Areas to Live in Gilbert
• Pros and Cons of Living in Gilbert
• Retiring in Gilbert
• Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Gilbert

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Families prioritizing consistently top-ranked safety, strong (if genuinely split across two districts) public schools, and a comparatively low ongoing property-tax burden, alongside buyers who want genuine outdoor recreation (San Tan Mountain Regional Park and the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch both sit in or near Gilbert) in a maturing, no-longer-hypergrowth East Valley suburb.

Maybe not for you if: Buyers needing the most affordable entry point in the Phoenix metro should look toward Mesa (also covered in this dataset), given Gilbert's real housing-price premium over the national median; anyone assuming Gilbert is still in its historic 1990-2003-style explosive-growth phase should weigh the real, disclosed slowdown as the town approaches build-out; commuters who need direct light rail access from home should note that no Valley Metro station sits inside Gilbert's town limits.