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ZIP Code86508

Lupton, AZ

Apache County · Arizona · United States
Home to 504 people across 81.942 square miles.

MountainOwner-majority28 ZIPs in county

At a glance

86508 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
504
±106 · bottom 25% nationally
Median household income
$20,000
US median $70,109 · bottom 10%
Median home value
$32,900
US median $207,500 · bottom 10%
Median age
38.4
US median 42 years
Population density
6/mi²
bottom 25% most dense
Land area
81.942 mi²
plus 0.039 mi² water

Location

Where 86508 is

35.352067, -109.08707 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates35.352067, -109.08707
Time zoneAmerica/Denver
CountyApache County
StateArizona (AZ)
Land area81.942 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/Denver

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Phoenix, AZ215.1 mi
Denver, CO377.1 mi
San Diego, CA496.7 mi
Los Angeles, CA527.6 mi

People

Who lives in 86508

504 residents in 178 households, averaging 2.83 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 23.2% of residents, and 43.8% of households are a single person living alone.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1823.2%
18-248.3%
25-3414.7%
35-4414.9%
45-547.1%
55-6414.9%
65+16.9%

Households

Composition and size

Total households178
Average household size2.83
Family households49.4%
Living alone43.8%
Median age38.4 years
Households with internet20.8%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White1.0%
Native American98.8%
Two or more0.2%
Hispanic / Latino0.4%

Income & work

What people earn in 86508

The median household here earns $20,000 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 86508 ahead of 0% of American ZIP codes. 54.3% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$20,000
LowestHighest
Higher than 0% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$20,000 ±$9,582
Per capita income$11,953
Poverty rate54.3%
Unemployment rate23.7%
Labor force participation33.8%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k56.7%
$25-50k21.9%
$50-75k7.3%
$75-100k10.1%
$100-150k2.2%
$150-200k1.7%
$200k+0.0%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 7.2% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 75.4% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 86508

A typical home is valued at $32,900. This is an owner-majority area — 93.3% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1982.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$32,900
Median gross rent—/mo
Median year built1982
Housing units257
Vacancy rate30.7%

Own vs. rent

Of 178 occupied units

Owner-occupied93.3%
Renter-occupied6.7%
Owner households166
Renter households12

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family81.3%
20+ units18.7%

Getting to work

How 86508 commutes

85.8% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 35.5 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone85.8%
Carpooled10.4%
Walked2.8%
Worked from home0.9%

Travel time

Mean commute 35.5 minutes

<10 min0.0%
10-1925.7%
20-292.9%
30-4454.3%
45-596.7%
60+10.5%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 86508

ZIP code 86508 is assigned to Lupton, AZ, and falls within Apache County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 504 people live inside it.

At 6 residents per square mile spread over 81.942 square miles, 86508 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings are well below the national median. At $20,000, 86508 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 0% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Lupton looks like

Housing in 86508 costs well below the national median. A typical home is valued at $32,900 against a US median of $207,500. Ownership dominates: 93.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 81.3% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1982, making the housing here from the later twentieth century. The vacancy rate of 30.7% is high, which in many places reflects seasonal or second-home use rather than abandonment.

The population skews broadly in line with the national age profile, with a median age of 38.4 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.83 people, and 49.4% are family households.

Getting to work takes 35.5 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 85.8% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Lupton, AZ

86508 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.

For reference, Phoenix, AZ is about 215.1 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 86508 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 86508 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 86508 offers a compact profile of Lupton: 504 residents, a median household income of $20,000, 7.2% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 23.7%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 86508 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Lupton may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

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Questions

Common questions about 86508

What city is ZIP code 86508 in?
86508 serves Lupton, Arizona, in Apache County, United States.
What is the population of 86508?
About 504 people live in ZIP code 86508, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±106. That works out to roughly 6 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 86508?
The median household income in 86508 is $20,000 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $11,953. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
How expensive is housing in 86508?
The median home value is $32,900 and median gross rent is — a month. 93.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 86508 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 7.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 23.7%, and the median age is 38.4. The average commute is 35.5 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 86508 in?
86508 observes Mountain Time (America/Denver). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 86508?
ZIP code 86508 covers 81.942 square miles of land plus 0.039 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 86508 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 86508 reads as a rural area. It holds 6 people per square mile across 81.942 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
What is the commute like from 86508?
The average one-way commute from 86508 takes about 35.5 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 85.8% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 86508?
About 106 residents of 86508 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 33.8% and the unemployment rate is 23.7%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 86508?
Accommodation in and around Lupton, AZ ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 86508 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Lupton as the primary place and Apache County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 86508 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 86508. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 86508, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.