These affordable Arizona suburbs are among fastest-growing in the U.S.

Everybody’s moving to the suburbs, and they’re paying a premium to do so.

But not in these Arizona suburbs. Personal finance site GoBankingRates published a ranking of the country’s 50 fastest-growing suburbs with home values less than $500,000. The site examined suburb population changes from 2020 to 2022 — the greater the population growth, the better — and cities whose average home value was less than half a million dollars in July of this year.

Five Arizona burbs made the list. Only Texas and Florida landed more entries in the top 50, with eight each.

If you want to buy an affordable house in an up-and-coming Arizona city, here’s where to look.

Marana — No. 33 nationally

In this town, which is north of Tucson and straddles Pima and Pinal counties, the average home value was roughly $442,000 in July. Marana calls itself “the fastest growing community in southern Arizona,” and it’s not exaggerating. Between 2020 and 2022, the town saw an 11.4% population increase to 52,542 residents.

Marana isn’t done growing. The city has plans for a new 50,000-plus-square-foot community center and is about to get its first Fry’s grocery store. Marana also offers residents activities such as golfing, hiking and tasting craft beers at local breweries.

Sahuarita — No. 32 nationally

This Pima County town south of Tucson has an average home value of almost $367,000. The city was named the second-safest place in Arizona in 2017, behind only Florence.

Sahuarita has the smallest population of the five Arizona communities on this list, with only 34,238 living there as of 2022. But that was an increase of 11.6% from two years earlier. For Sahuarita, though, that type of growth is child’s play. From 2000 to 2010, the city’s population increased by 679%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

New Sahuarita residents can enjoy water activities on the town’s large artificial lake, tons of local walking trails and even puppy yoga, according to its website.

Goodyear — No. 10 nationally

This Phoenix suburb has an average home value of more than $483,000, the highest of the Arizona suburbs on this list. Goodyear also boasts the largest population with nearly 98,000 residents in 2022. That’s a 16.8% increase since 2020.

Located about 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix, Goodyear is home to the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport and is the spring training home for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians.

Maricopa — No. 7 nationally

Maricopa — not to be confused with Maricopa County — is 45 minutes south of Phoenix. Confusingly, it’s in Pinal County.

In Maricopa, which is surrounded by the Gila River Indian Reservation and the Ak-Chin Indian Community, the average home value is slightly greater than $364,000. The city’s population was almost 60,000 in 2022, an increase of 18.4% since 2020.

If you move there, you can race cars at APEX motor club, hit some balls at its many golf courses or avail yourself of Maricopa’s city-managed recreation center, which features a pool, workout facilities and amphitheater.

Buckeye — No. 3 nationally

Buckeye is consistently named one of the fastest-growing Arizona cities, attracting more new residents than any other city in the U.S. in 2017, 2018 and 2021. It’s also Arizona’s largest city by land area and the westernmost suburb of the Phoenix metro area.

In Buckeye, the average home value is roughly $407,000 and the population was greater than 95,000 in 2022. That represented a nearly 28% increase since 2020. However, Buckeye’s growth may come to a halt after reports showed that the West Valley suburb doesn’t have enough water to meet the state’s requirement of a 100-year water supply for new developments.

If you’re not worried about water, though, you can watch movies in the park, play a round of golf or take in nature on a hike at the city’s regional park.