States · Arizona · Gila County

Hayden, Arizona.

. Payson, AZ metro.

What it costs per month · Hayden $2,187/mo

to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,161 (+113%) since Jan 2020.

Monthly payment to buy the typical home

Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.

$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Arizona $2,187 United States $1,922
$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 2002 2010 2018 2026
  • Arizona$2,187
  • United States$1,922

Living in Hayden, Gila County, Arizona

Hayden is a town of 512 people in Gila County. Unemployment in Gila County was 5.0% in August 2026, and the county had 4.0% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Gila County work in schools and health care, then restaurants and hotels.

People 512 in the 2020 census; median age 50.1
Household income Too few homes in Hayden for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 5.0% Gila County, August 2026; 4.3% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Hayden for the Census survey to measure.

Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.

What it’s like

The place. Hayden is a very small town, with a population well below that of most American towns, and its residents are older than in most of the country. The San Pedro River runs in or beside town. Winters are mild, with little or no snow, and summers are hot and dry.

Work. Residents work mostly in schools, hospitals and social care, in restaurants, hotels and entertainment, in shops, and in the building trades. Few work from home. Across Gila County, the largest workplaces include Freeport McMoRan, which does copper smelting and rod milling, Gila County Government, and Cobre Valley REG. Medical Center, a critical access hospital. Unemployment across the county has risen over the past year, and the county has fewer jobs than it did the year before.

Things to do. The San Pedro River is in or beside town, and the San Pedro River Preserve, a protected area, is a short drive away. A longer drive leads to San Carlos Lake, a reservoir, and to Boyce Thompson Arboretum, a botanical garden.

Report a mistake
  • 3%work from home

What people in Gila County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care24%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment13%
  • Shops (retail)10%
  • Building trades10%
  • Professional and business services9%
  • Government8%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Gila County had 15,339 jobs in 2025, 4.0% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 58° and 31°; warmest in July, 98° and 71° 40° 60° 80° 100° J F M A M J J 98° 71° A S O N D 58° 31°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 58° and 31°; warmest in July, 98° and 71° 40° 60° 80° 100° J F M A M J J 98° 71° A S O N D 58° 31°

Coldest in December, with highs near 58° and lows near 31°; warmest in July, with highs near 98° and lows near 71°. About 13 inches of rain a year, and little or no snow.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the San Carlos Reservoir weather station, 20 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Gila County

  1. Freeport McMoRanCopper smelting and rod milling911
  2. Gila County GovernmentBoards of supervisors, county and local473
  3. Cobre Valley Reg. Medical CenterCritical access hospital343FTE
  4. Whiteriver Unified District (4394)School district304FTE
  5. Payson Unified District (4209)School district297FTE
  6. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters286
  7. Apache Gold CasinoCasino with hotel273
  8. San Carlos Unified District (4210)School district265FTE

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 26 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 3,792 people in all across the county; Hayden has none of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. WildfireRelatively high
  2. Inland floodingRelatively high
  3. LightningRelatively high
  4. Heat wavesRelatively moderate
  5. Winter weatherRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Hayden’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively moderate. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Gila County and the Payson, AZ metro.

Hayden home values

Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

Not enough data to draw this yet.

Market heat, inside the city limits

Homes for sale

Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.

4 4 5 2026 Hayden 5
4 4 5 2026
  • Hayden5

Zip codes with a Hayden address

A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Hayden — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.

Zillow publishes no zip-level series with this city on the address.