What Qualifies As USDA Rural?
The USDA Rural designation might surprise you. The USDA says that the property must be designated as rural by the Rural Housing Service (RHS) and some designated rural areas actually look and feel more like the suburbs. In Tucson, the Rancho Vistoso area North of Tangerine Road has the coveted USDA Rural designation, as does the entire town of Vail. If the home you are interested in buying has the USDA Rural designation, you have a terrific opportunity to obtaining the most cost efficient, lowest payment home loan available.
To see if a property is eligible you can call or email our office at (520) 225-0380. If you don’t yet have a specific property in mind, just print out the map for the area. Or you can search the USDA Rural Property Eligibility Database for the property address.
Metro Areas:
- Casa Grande AZ – Casa Grande USDA Rural Eligibility Map
- Sierra Vista AZ – Sierra Vista USDA Rural Eligibility Map
- Tucson AZ - Tucson USDA Eligibility Map
- Yuma City AZ – Yuma City AZ USDA Rural Eligibility Map
County Areas:
- Cochise County AZ – Cochise County USDA Rural Eligibility Map
- Pima County AZ – Pima County USDA Eligibility Map
- Pinal County AZ – Pinal County USDA Eligibility Map
- Santa Cruz County AZ – Santa Cruz County Eligibility Map
- Yuma County AZ – Yuma County USDA Rural Eligibility Map
You can apply for a USDA Guaranteed Rural Home Loan here.

December 21st, 2008 at 7:44 pm
What about Maricopa County? Aren’t there “rural designations” for such areas as Chandler?
Thanks for responding.
December 27th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Maricopa County has quite a bit of qualifying property. Chandler is a toughie and to be sure about a property it would be best to look it up in the USDA database. Nearby Queen Creek has a majority of it’s area as qualifying.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:40 am
How about the west valley areas cities like Goodyear, Litchfield park, avondale, glendale, buckeye, of Maricopa County? Do they qualify for USDA Rural loans? I would like to have a map if they are available.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
What about Gladdens farm in arizona, heard that was a rural area, can you confirm that???? thank you
July 27th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Gladden Farms is acceptable at this time for USDA Guaranteed Rural home loans.
July 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
James – I don’t have existing maps for those areas, but most do qualify. If you email me an address I would be happy to look it up for you.
August 1st, 2009 at 6:28 pm
is bullhead city az rural, or do i have to move out of city to qualify?mohave is the county. thanks
August 5th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Hi Karen,
At this time Bullhead City Arizona is showing as an ineligible area. It does look like you would not have to go very far out of the city to find a qualifying property. You can always hit the Get Started tab on this page and send in a property address for us to look up or you can go to http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do?pageAction=sfp&NavKey=property@11 and look it up in the USDA database.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:13 am
We want to buy a home next year using the USDA rural home loan, should we start the qualifying process now?
August 5th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Hi Heather,
You still have quite a bit of time between now and next year, but it will approach quickly. My suggestion would be to first get your credit in order. In other words, review it to be sure it fits the requirements of USDA Rural Home Loans. I would be happy to review it with you and provide any positive input that will help you in the right direction.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:30 pm
As of June 1, 2010 are funds again available for USDA residential loans in Maricopa and Pinal county.
I am a Realtor. Where can I find a detailed map of the boundary lines for eligable USDA loan property specifically in Goodyear, Surprise, Litchfield Park. The online eligability map has inadequate detail to determine where the lines are.
June 4th, 2010 at 7:10 am
Loren – Yes, we are funding USDA Loans in Maricopa and Pinal Counties again. There are not any detailed maps for those areas however what I have on the USDA Loan Maps tab may help you.