Payson, Arizona demographics

Payson, AZ demographics: median age 60.9; 24.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Payson town, Arizona · Incorporated town · GEOID 0453700. The survey estimates a population of 16,622 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Payson is 60.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.3 years. There are 8,224 households (±394). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe City estimate ± MOE State estimate ± MOE U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years 60.9 ±2.3 39.0 ±0.1 38.9 ±0.1
Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 16,622
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Under 18 2,557 ±472 15.4% ±2.8 pp 21.6% 22.0%
18–34 2,395 ±374 14.4% ±2.3 pp 23.2% 22.8%
35–64 5,075 ±556 30.5% ±3.3 pp 36.2% 38.0%
65 and older 6,595 ±595 39.7% ±3.6 pp 18.9% 17.2%
Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 16,622
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Male 8,356 ±416 50.3% ±2.5 pp 49.9% 49.5%
Female 8,266 ±412 49.7% ±2.5 pp 50.1% 50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 16,622
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
White alone 14,011 ±647 84.3% ±3.9 pp 59.0% 61.0%
Black or African American alone 60 ±69 · low precision 0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision 4.6% 12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 223 ±203 · low precision 1.3% ±1.2 pp · low precision 4.0% 0.9%
Asian alone 93 ±71 · low precision 0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision 3.6% 6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.2% 0.2%
Some other race alone 682 ±431 · low precision 4.1% ±2.6 pp · low precision 9.1% 7.1%
Two or more races 1,553 ±486 9.3% ±2.9 pp 19.5% 12.6%
Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 16,622
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino 14,572 ±543 87.7% ±3.3 pp 68.6% 80.7%
Hispanic or Latino 2,050 ±547 12.3% ±3.3 pp 31.4% 19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,224
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Married-couple family 3,949 ±355 48.0% ±3.7 pp 46.7% 46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present 281 ±143 · low precision 3.4% ±1.7 pp · low precision 5.6% 5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present 510 ±258 · low precision 6.2% ±3.1 pp · low precision 11.9% 12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone 2,930 ±481 35.6% ±5.6 pp 27.5% 28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone 554 ±200 6.7% ±2.4 pp 8.2% 7.0%
Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,224
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Households with people under 18 1,298 ±272 15.8% ±3.2 pp 28.7% 29.5%
Households without people under 18 6,926 ±525 84.2% ±4.9 pp 71.3% 70.5%
Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,224
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
One-person nonfamily households 2,930 ±481 35.6% ±5.6 pp 27.5% 28.7%
Two-person households 3,497 ±416 42.5% ±4.6 pp 35.6% 33.8%
Three-person households 805 ±323 9.8% ±3.9 pp 14.3% 15.3%
Four-person households 636 ±237 7.7% ±2.9 pp 11.8% 12.6%
Five-person households 254 ±136 · low precision 3.1% ±1.6 pp · low precision 6.1% 5.9%
Six-person households 27 ±50 · low precision 0.3% ±0.6 pp · low precision 2.8% 2.2%
Seven or more people 75 ±80 · low precision 0.9% ±1.0 pp · low precision 1.9% 1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 16,622
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Native 15,792 ±263 95.0% ±1.6 pp 87.0% 85.9%
Foreign born 830 ±261 5.0% ±1.6 pp 13.0% 14.1%
Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 15,984
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
English only 14,776 ±437 92.4% ±2.5 pp 74.3% 77.7%
Spanish 842 ±406 5.3% ±2.5 pp 19.3% 13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.7%
German or other West Germanic 155 ±133 · low precision 1.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.4% 0.7%
Other Indo-European 19 ±31 · low precision 0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision 1.1% 2.0%
Korean 11 ±18 · low precision 0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.2% 0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.5% 1.1%
Vietnamese 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino 16 ±28 · low precision 0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision 0.4% 0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.7% 1.1%
Arabic 0 ±22 · low precision 0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision 0.4% 0.5%
Other and unspecified 165 ±113 · low precision 1.0% ±0.7 pp · low precision 1.9% 0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 13,327
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Less than high school graduate 931 ±268 7.0% ±2.0 pp 10.6% 10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency 3,583 ±529 26.9% ±3.9 pp 23.5% 26.0%
Some college, no degree 4,033 ±517 30.3% ±3.7 pp 23.3% 19.1%
Associate’s degree 1,521 ±405 11.4% ±3.0 pp 9.3% 8.8%
Bachelor’s degree 2,000 ±326 15.0% ±2.4 pp 20.3% 21.6%
Graduate or professional degree 1,259 ±297 9.4% ±2.2 pp 13.0% 14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 16,473
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) Arizona U.S.
Same house 13,635 ±668 82.8% ±4.0 pp 85.7% 87.7%
Moved within same county 1,061 ±489 6.4% ±3.0 pp 8.5% 6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state 1,308 ±597 7.9% ±3.6 pp 1.6% 3.1%
Moved from a different state 454 ±282 · low precision 2.8% ±1.7 pp · low precision 3.5% 2.3%
Moved from abroad 15 ±25 · low precision 0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision 0.7% 0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

8.7% of Payson residents (±2.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 10.5% in Arizona and 8.4% nationally. 85.7% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure Payson Arizona U.S. Compared with Arizona
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population 8.7% ±2.4 pp 10.5% 8.4% Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households 85.7% ±2.8 pp 91.5% 91.0% Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older 14.2% ±2.4 pp 7.9% 6.2% Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Payson . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Payson housing and cost context or return to the city profile.

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