Relocation Information

"It’s like living in Camelot: A gorgeous view in every direction. Perfect temperatures all year long. Fishing, hiking, camping and golfing at your fingertips. Life just doesn’t get any better!”

Jan Parsons, APS Regional Manager

Renowned for four mild seasons and numerous recreational activities, Payson is a haven for fishermen, golfers, tennis players, water and snow skiers, equestrians, hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. However, while Arizona Rim Country residents and visitors enjoy a down-to-earth rural lifestyle, they also appreciate many of the amenities available in larger cities.

Community Facilities

Public Parks – Year round enjoyment of the outdoors is a vital part of the Rim Country lifestyle. Payson’s award-winning Green Valley Park featuring three trout-stocked lakes, walking trails, museum, Veterans’ Memorial, covered picnic areas and band shell is a favorite for locals and visitors alike. Additional amenities include lighted softball fields, all-weather soccer fields, picnic areas (some with ramadas and barbecues), playgrounds, exercise path, lighted tennis courts, skate park, swimming pool, off-leash dog park, and gazebo.

Library - The newly completed 15,000+ SF Payson Public Library has a collection of nearly 100,000 books and adds approximately 500 new items per month. Additionally there are 14 computers with high-speed Internet access and an 84-seat public meeting room with a full kitchen. The library has separate children’s and young adult rooms and a bookstore.

Meeting facilities - 10, with the largest seating 900 persons.

Motels, inns, lodges, bed and breakfast - 17 with over 600 rooms

Mobile home and RV parks - 13

Climate

Arizona Rim Country’s weather is arguably the most ideal there is. The region has a mild, four-season climate with plenty of sunshine year round.

The temperature difference between Payson and Phoenix ranges between 15 and 20 degrees. When the mercury hits 100 degrees in Phoenix, the residents begin longing for relief 90 miles north in Payson where the thermometers are recording a pleasant 80-85 degrees amid breezes blowing through the pines.

Those breezes contain some of the healthiest air in the United States, according to Sunbelt Retirement Magazine. The publication has cited the Pine-Payson area, Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, and the Hartz Mountains of Germany as having the only pure air ozone belts in the world.

Annual average maximum temperature in Payson is 72.3 degrees. The annual average minimum temperature is 38.6. And the normal, annual average rainfall and snowfall are 20.77 inches and 25.1 inches, respectively. Typically Payson will get a couple of 3-4 inch snows that are enjoyed for a few days before it melts. Heavy snowfalls are rare in Payson. Pine and Strawberry get a little more snow and on top the Rim there is enough for a cross-country ski course and a snow play area.

Environment

Payson rests against the base of the majestic Mogollon Rim in the world’s largest Ponderosa Pine forest. Inspiring vistas of "The Rim," the Mazatzal Mountains, the Granite Dells and other features (including the forest itself) are abundant.

Residents of Payson and the Rim Country are ever on the alert to protect the breathtakingly beautiful and awesome environment in which they live.

They cherish the purity of the air they breathe, air that has been recognized as the cleanest in the Western United States.

The Payson Town Council is quick to take whatever action is necessary to assure residents the purest of water, and municipal sanitary conditions competitive with the finest in any metropolitan area in the states.

Though aware of the need for continuing commercial and industrial development, the Council also has recognized an environmental need to safeguard the abundant ponderosa pines within the Town limits. It enacted an ordinance restricting the cutting of trees in the town.

48-acre Green Valley Park was developed jointly by the Town of Payson Water Department and the Sanitary District. Treated effluent from the district’s award-winning water treatment plant fills a 10.5-acre lake for boating and fishing with adjacent picnic areas featuring ramadas, rolling grassy play areas, exercise paths and a gazebo. The Northern Gila County Historical Society’s museum is located in the center of the Park

Average Temperature and Precipitation