Kids in these Valley areas are at highest risk of catching measles

Measles had a banner year in Arizona in 2025. 

Doctors reported more than 220 positive cases of the highly contagious disease last year, most of them concentrated in a small northern Arizona town with a history of vaccine skepticism. No measles cases were reported in Maricopa County, a lucky streak that changed in 2026.

So far this year, Arizona doctors have identified five positive measles cases in Maricopa County as well as new cases in Coconino, Pima and Pinal counties — and those are in addition to the ongoing outbreak in Mohave County. In late January, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health announced several potential exposure sites in Gilbert. More followed in April in Queen Creek.

Since last August, about 300 people in Arizona have tested positive for measles. Some 97% of those people were unvaccinated.

It didn’t used to be this way. Before the middle of 2025, positive measles cases were fleetingly rare. The last significant outbreak was a decade ago, when more than 30 cases were reported at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Eloy Detention Center.

The MMR (or measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is so effective that for a generation, measles had been considered all but eliminated in the United States. But fed by bogus science and attention-thirsty bullshitters such as RFK Jr., many Americans over time have decided not to vaccinate their kids. This is great news if you’re a measles virus. Communities with low MMR vaccination rates are especially vulnerable to outbreaks.

Who gets measles, and how

People spread the highly contagious virus through the air. It can remain in the air for as long as two hours after an infected individual leaves, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. It’s important for at least 95% of people in a given community to be vaccinated against it — otherwise, the disease can thrive and spread.

You absolutely do not want your kids to catch measles. They may develop a high fever, coughing, and pink eye. A few who catch the disease will die. Nationwide last year, three people died among 2,288 confirmed cases in the United States. And cases this year are pacing even faster: The first 15 weeks of the year saw 1,748 positive cases.

The CDC estimates that 92.5% of kindergartners nationwide have received two doses of the MMR vaccine, a dip from a year earlier. For the 2023-2024 school year, the measles vaccination rate in Maricopa County was 88.7%, according to the state health department.

Different areas of the Valley face different levels of risk, based on their vaccination rates. To see which parts of the Valley are most at risk, Phoenix New Times looked at MMR vaccination rates for kindergartners throughout the greater Phoenix area, separating the data by ZIP code. The Arizona Department of Health Services collects immunization data about children at three levels of schooling: daycare and preschool, kindergarten and sixth grade. It releases that data each year, the most recent of which is from the 2024-2025 school year. We excluded schools that have fewer than 20 students, as the immunization report does not include specific enrollment numbers for them.

The state considers a school to have “community immunity” when at least 95% of its kindergartners have gotten two MMR shots. In Maricopa County, only 160 of 753 schools (21%) reached that threshold in the 2024-2025 school year. Only one school, Wickenburg, had all its students vaccinated.

Here are the 10 most at-risk Zip codes around the Valley.

10. 85142 – Queen Creek

Elementary schools: 13

Kindergartners: 1,170

Measles vaccination rate: 80.1% 

Queen Creek is booming. Some 93,700 people live in this 101.3-square-mile ZIP code. Too few of them are vaccinating their kindergartners.

9. 85256 – Scottsdale

Elementary schools: 1

Kindergartners: 39 

Measles vaccination rate: 79.5%

The lone elementary school in this ZIP code is the private Salt River Elementary School. About 3,500 people live in this area covering most of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. 

8. 85286 – Chandler

Elementary schools: 6

Kindergartners: 466

Measles vaccination rate: 79%

This affluent South Chandler ZIP code, which encompasses the Chandler Municipal Airport, contains a mix of charter, public and private schools with low MMR vaccination rates. More than 41% of students at Tri-City Christian Academy opted out of getting their vaccine.

7. 85355 – Waddell

Elementary schools: 2

Kindergartners: 193

Measles vaccination rate: 78.8%

This unincorporated West Valley community borders Luke Air Force Base just west of Litchfield Park and El Mirage. The vaccination rates of its two schools dropped more than four percentage points since the prior school year.

6. 85296 – Gilbert 

Elementary schools: 8

Kindergartners: 606

Measles vaccination rate: 77.4% 

Gilbert is a hotspot for measles exposure sites. This suburban East Valley ZIP code holds plenty of single-family homes and the planned community Agritopia.

5. 85268 – Fountain Hills

Elementary Schools: 1

Kindergartners: 53

Measles vaccination rate: 77.4% 

Fountain Hills’ single public elementary school — McDowell Mountain Elementary School — has a low vaccination rate.

4. 85331 – Cave Creek 

Elementary schools: 2

Kindergartners: 78

Measles vaccination rate: 75.6%

Both of this 131-square-mile ZIP code’s public elementary schools In north-central Maricopa County have dismal vaccination rates.

3. 85266 – Scottsdale 

Elementary schools: 1

Kindergartners: 20 

Measles vaccination rate: 75%

This north Scottsdale ZIP code, with a population of more than 12,500, has a public elementary school — Desert Sun Elementary — with a conspicuously low vaccination rate.

2. 85054 – North Phoenix 

Elementary schools: 1

Kindergartners: 49

Measles vaccination rate: 73.5%

This north Phoenix ZIP code beside 85266 off the Loop 101 is home to Horseshoe Trails Elementary School.

1. 85087 – New River

Elementary schools: 3

Kindergartners: 59 

Measles vaccination rate: 73% 

More than 10,000 people call this majority-white northern Maricopa County ZIP code home. More than 32% of students at the local charter school are exempt from the MMR vaccine.