Stargaze Atlas

Arizona dark-sky map — light pollution by town

68 towns rated · darkest: Sierra Vista Southeast · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Arizona has 68 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Sierra Vista Southeast (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 6 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. It also holds 13 certified International Dark Sky Places, listed below with the nearest rated town to each. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Arizona · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
68

5 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Sierra Vista Southeast
Genuinely dark towns
5
Certified dark-sky places
13

Certified dark-sky places in Arizona

13 sites in Arizona hold an International Dark Sky Place certification — awarded for actively protecting the night sky, not measured from orbit like the town ratings below. What each designation means →

Certified International Dark Sky Places in Arizona.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Camp Verde Dark Sky Community 34.564°N, 111.854°W Camp Verde 0 mi B5
Chiricahua National Monument Dark Sky Park 32.006°N, 109.357°W Douglas 47 mi B7
Flagstaff Dark Sky Community 35.199°N, 111.631°W Flagstaff 1 mi B7
Flagstaff Area National Monuments Dark Sky Park 35.548°N, 111.392°W Flagstaff 28 mi B7
Fountain Hills Dark Sky Community 33.605°N, 111.729°W Fountain Hills 1 mi B7
Grand Canyon National Park Dark Sky Park 36.055°N, 112.122°W Flagstaff 65 mi B7
Kartchner Caverns State Park Dark Sky Park 31.837°N, 110.347°W Sierra Vista 20 mi B7
Oracle State Park Dark Sky Park 32.591°N, 110.579°W Saddlebrooke 19 mi B4
Petrified Forest National Park Dark Sky Park 35.088°N, 109.806°W Show Low 59 mi B6
Sedona Dark Sky Community 34.860°N, 111.789°W West Sedona 1 mi B6
Tonto National Monument Dark Sky Park 33.657°N, 111.094°W Gold Camp 28 mi B4
Tumacácori National Historical Park Dark Sky Park 31.568°N, 111.051°W Rio Rico 8 mi B5
Village of Oak Creek Dark Sky Community 34.783°N, 111.761°W Sedona 6 mi B6

All Arizona towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

Arizona towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Sierra Vista Southeast 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.0 already the darkest nearby
Saddlebrooke 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.1 already the darkest nearby
Gold Camp 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.6 already the darkest nearby
Verde Village 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.1 already the darkest nearby
New River 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.8 already the darkest nearby
Marana 5 Suburban sky 3.1 Saddlebrooke — B4, 20 mi
Sahuarita 5 Suburban sky 3.2 Saddlebrooke — B4, 40 mi
Rio Rico 5 Suburban sky 3.4 Sierra Vista Southeast — B4, 45 mi
Tanque Verde 5 Suburban sky 4.8 Saddlebrooke — B4, 22 mi
Catalina Foothills 5 Suburban sky 5.3 Saddlebrooke — B4, 17 mi
Gold Canyon 5 Suburban sky 5.6 Gold Camp — B4, 9 mi
Camp Verde 5 Suburban sky 7.1 Verde Village — B4, 14 mi
Chino Valley 5 Suburban sky 7.3 Verde Village — B4, 25 mi
Tucson Estates 5 Suburban sky 7.9 Saddlebrooke — B4, 27 mi
New Kingman-Butler 6 Bright suburban sky 8.0 Chino Valley — B5, 96 mi
Casas Adobes 6 Bright suburban sky 9.2 Catalina Foothills — B5, 5 mi
Vail 6 Bright suburban sky 9.2 Tanque Verde — B5, 14 mi
Prescott Valley 6 Bright suburban sky 9.4 Chino Valley — B5, 13 mi
Arizona City 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8 Marana — B5, 34 mi
Cottonwood 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8 Verde Village — B4, 2 mi
Sedona 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Verde Village — B4, 18 mi
Green Valley 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Sahuarita — B5, 8 mi
West Sedona 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Verde Village — B4, 16 mi
Oro Valley 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Catalina Foothills — B5, 7 mi
Sun Lakes 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Gold Canyon — B5, 28 mi
Fortuna Foothills 6 Bright suburban sky 14 San Diego Country Estates, CA — B5, 140 mi
Sun City West 6 Bright suburban sky 15 New River — B4, 21 mi
Show Low 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Gold Camp — B4, 99 mi
Drexel Heights 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Tucson Estates — B5, 5 mi
Payson 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Camp Verde — B5, 38 mi
Coolidge 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Gold Camp — B4, 25 mi
Florence 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Gold Camp — B4, 19 mi
Sun City 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Sun City West — B6, 6 mi
Kingman 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 New Kingman-Butler — B6, 5 mi
Paradise Valley 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Sun Lakes — B6, 22 mi
Flowing Wells 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Casas Adobes — B6, 2 mi
Tucson 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Catalina Foothills — B5, 5 mi
Sierra Vista 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Sierra Vista Southeast — B4, 9 mi
Lake Havasu City 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 New Kingman-Butler — B6, 56 mi
Eloy 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Arizona City — B6, 7 mi
Buckeye 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Sun City West — B6, 25 mi
Douglas 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Sierra Vista Southeast — B4, 40 mi
Fountain Hills 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Gold Canyon — B5, 23 mi
Flagstaff 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Sedona — B6, 24 mi
Casa Grande 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Arizona City — B6, 10 mi
Maricopa 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Sun Lakes — B6, 15 mi
Scottsdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Sun Lakes — B6, 21 mi
Somerton 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Fortuna Foothills — B6, 18 mi
Prescott 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Prescott Valley — B6, 10 mi
Nogales 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Rio Rico — B5, 9 mi
El Mirage 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Sun City West — B6, 4 mi
Gilbert 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Sun Lakes — B6, 11 mi
Surprise 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Sun City West — B6, 2 mi
Apache Junction 8 City sky 42 Gold Canyon — B5, 7 mi
Queen Creek 8 City sky 48 Gilbert — B7, 12 mi
Bullhead City 8 City sky 50 Kingman — B7, 29 mi
Glendale 8 City sky 51 Sun City — B7, 6 mi
Yuma 8 City sky 51 Somerton — B7, 10 mi
Peoria 8 City sky 51 Sun City — B7, 2 mi
Avondale 8 City sky 53 Sun City — B7, 12 mi
Tempe Junction 8 City sky 53 Scottsdale — B7, 7 mi
Mesa 8 City sky 56 Gilbert — B7, 5 mi
Chandler 8 City sky 73 Gilbert — B7, 4 mi
Goodyear 8 City sky 73 Sun City — B7, 12 mi
San Luis 8 City sky 85 Somerton — B7, 9 mi
Tempe 8 City sky 86 Scottsdale — B7, 7 mi
Phoenix 9 Inner-city sky 156 Tempe Junction — B8, 8 mi
San Tan Valley 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.3 already the darkest nearby

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Arizona?
The darkest town tracked here is Sierra Vista Southeast, but the genuinely dark skies in Arizona are its 13 certified International Dark Sky Places — Camp Verde, Chiricahua National Monument, Flagstaff, Flagstaff Area National Monuments and others — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
How many dark-sky towns does Arizona have?
Of 68 towns rated here, 6 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

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