Flagstaff FAQs

The city of Flagstaff is located at 6,909 feet (2,105 m) above sea level. Mount Humphreys is the highest point in Arizona with the pinnacle at 12,635 ft (3851 m).

Getting elevation sickness at this altitude is not uncommon. Be sure to hydrate before recreating at this elevation. Common signs of elevation sickness include headaches, nausea, and vomiting.

Yes. Because of its high elevation, Flagstaff enjoys four full seasons including snow in the winter and early spring. Flagstaff is home to the popular ski resort, Arizona Snowbowl, that is open late-November into mid-June some years. Most of Flagstaff's snow falls in the spring (Feb-Mar), with an average of 77 inches of snow per year in town, and about 126 inches up at the ski resort. See more details and average monthly temperatures here.

Flagstaff is 17% overall more expensive to live in than the national average. Although things like groceries are about average and transportation costs less than average, housing costs are about 66% higher than the national average. The median home cost is $383,600. Flagstaff currently offers a $13/hr minimum wage and $10/hr minimum wage for those who make $30+/mo in tips.

Flagstaff is known as the "Gateway City to the Grand Canyon". For those visiting Grand Canyon National Park's South RIm, Flagstaff is the biggest city nearest to the Canyon with all the amenities including of dozens of hotels to choose from, restaurants, nightlife, and endless amounts of outdoor recreation. Flagstaff is also known for its significantly cooler temperatures than the more populated surrounding cities such as Phoenix, Scottsdale, Prescott, and Tucson. Because of its cooler temps and full four seasons, people from all over the state enjoy Flagstaff as their local, outdoor vacation getaway as Flagstaff has ample mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, fishing, camping, waterplay, boating and even skiing, snowboarding and snowplay. One of the most popular hikes is summiting Mt. Humphreys, which is not only highest point in Arizona, but the highest point at this latitude between California and North Carolina with a peak at 12,633 ft (3,851 m).

Northern Arizona University, one of three state universities in Arizona, is located in the heart of Flagstaff. Much of Flagstaff's culture and economy is closely entwined with NAU and its students. The university is one of the top 3 biggest employers in the city and the student population makes up nearly 30% of all residents in Flagstaff while school is in session.

Flagstaff has a resident population of 75,000 as of 2019. The student population at Northern Arizona University (NAU) is about 29,000. And according to a City of Flagstaff economic impact study in 2014-2015, Flagstaff sees as many as 5.5 million visitors each year and growing.

The Hopi and Navajo tribes are the two main Native American tribes near Flagstaff. The Navajo Nation is a territory covering about 17,544,500 acres ( 27,413 sq mi), in portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. This is the largest land area retained by an indigenous tribe in the United States. The Hopi's tribal land is surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, in Navajo and Coconino counties of Arizona. The site in north-eastern Arizona has a land area of 2,531.773 sq mi. These are two distinctly different tribes with their own culture, values, language, beliefs and way of living.