Which water softener fits your Phoenix home?
Phoenix and most of the Valley have very hard water, but how hard depends on your city, your water system and even your street. Pick yours to find the water softener that fits.
Independent, we don't sell softeners
Hardness figures from the published reports of 11 water providers.
Where our numbers come from
Every community water system in the U.S. must publish a yearly water quality report under the Safe Drinking Water Act. We read each city water utility's report or hardness fact sheet and record its total hardness (calcium plus magnesium) by service zone.
Last checked 15 October 2026, each against the original document. No company supplies or pays for these figures.
2. How many people live in your home?
What the dial setting means
Every softener has a control valve on top with a setting for your water's hardness, usually labelled "hardness" or "grains". Enter this number there. It tells the softener how hard your water is, so it knows when it is full.
"Recharging" (some manuals say "regenerating") is the softener cleaning itself: it rinses its resin beads with salty water to flush out the minerals they have caught. With this setting it happens on its own, about every 7 days in your home, usually at night.
Set the number too low and hard water slips through before the next recharge. Set it too high and the softener recharges early, wasting salt and water.
Phoenix blends river, canal and well water, so hardness shifts across the city. We use the middle of the range. Source: City of Phoenix Water Services Department, annual water quality report, 2025.
We don't make, sell or install water softeners or filters, and no company pays to be listed or ranked.
How this figure was measured
Who published it
What the figure is
How we use it
Phoenix water hardness by city
From each city's latest published figures. The dial setting is the number to enter on your softener.
| City or area | How hard | Range (grains per gallon) | Softener dial setting | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | Very hard | 10 to 17.6 | 14 | City of Phoenix Water Services Department, annual water quality report, 2025 |
| Scottsdale, south of Indian School Rd | Very hard | 13 to 15 | 14 | Scottsdale Water (City of Scottsdale), annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Scottsdale, Indian School to Chaparral Rd | Very hard | 13 to 17 | 15 | Scottsdale Water (City of Scottsdale), annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Scottsdale, north of Chaparral Rd | Very hard | 13 to 17 | 15 | Scottsdale Water (City of Scottsdale), annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Mesa, City Zone | Very hard | about 12 | 12 | City of Mesa Water Resources Department, annual water quality report, 2025 |
| Mesa, Eastern and Southern Zones | Very hard | about 16 | 16 | City of Mesa Water Resources Department, annual water quality report, 2025 |
| Chandler | Very hard | 5 to 20, average 16.5 | 17 | City of Chandler, water quality questions and answers, undated web page |
| Peoria | Very hard | 5.1 to 19.7 | 13 | City of Peoria Water Services Department, hardness study, 2020 |
| Gilbert | Very hard | 6.6 to 17.5, average 10.8 | 11 | Town of Gilbert Public Works (Water), annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Glendale | Very hard | 5.4 to 18.5, average 13.8 | 14 | City of Glendale Water Services Department, annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Tempe | Very hard | 10.4 to 32.6, average 12.3 | 13 | City of Tempe Water Utilities, annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Surprise, Mountain Vista | Moderately hard | 2.7 to 4.9, average 3.9 | 4 | City of Surprise Water Resource Management, annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Surprise, Desert Oasis | Moderately hard | 2.6 to 11.1, average 6.2 | 7 | City of Surprise Water Resource Management, annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Surprise, Surprise Foothills | Moderately hard | 5.1 to 5.6, average 5.3 | 6 | City of Surprise Water Resource Management, annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Surprise, Circle City | Hard | about 8.2 | 9 | City of Surprise Water Resource Management, annual water quality report, 2026 (2025 data) |
| Queen Creek | Very hard | 6 to 17 | 12 | Town of Queen Creek Water Services, water quality questions and answers, undated web page |
| Fountain Hills | Very hard | about 16 | 16 | EPCOR Water Arizona (Chaparral City water system), annual water quality report, 2025 (hardness sampled in 2024) |
Goodyear publishes a recommended softener setting (14 to 20) rather than a measured figure, and Buckeye publishes neither, so a home test kit is the best guide in those cities.
Questions Phoenix homeowners ask
Water softener installation in Phoenix
Softener loops, drains and outlets, DIY or plumber, and what to ask an installer.
What size softener do I need?
A size chart by household and city, with recharge days and salt per year.
Salt-free conditioner or a real softener?
What each does in very hard Valley water, and when salt-free falls short.
What hardness setting should I use?
The number to enter for Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler and Peoria.
Softener not working?
Five checks to do first, and when to repair or replace.
Why the number changes from city to city
Each Valley city runs its own water system and blends its own mix of river, canal and well water. Mesa is a clear example: the City of Mesa Water Resources Department’s annual water quality report for 2025 says the City Zone gets Salt and Verde river water through the Salt River Project, at about 12 grains per gallon, while the Eastern and Southern Zones get Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project, at about 16.
That is why we size softeners by city and, where the city publishes it, by zone. If you have tested your own water, enter the result above: it replaces the city figure.
Is a water softener worth it in Phoenix?
Most Valley cities publish figures in the very hard range (above 10.5 grains per gallon), so scale is a fact of life across most of the Valley: white crust on faucets and shower doors, spotty dishes, and mineral build-up inside water heaters and other appliances. A softener stops that at the source. The exception so far is Surprise, whose four groundwater systems publish about 4 to 8 grains per gallon; there a softener is more of a choice than a necessity. Everywhere else it is worth weighing against the upkeep, which is mostly buying salt, and how long you will stay in the home. Renters should get the landlord’s agreement first.
Soft water system, whole-house filter or RO: what each one fixes
Phoenix water treatment companies often sell these as a package, so it helps to know which problem each one solves:
| System | What it does | What it doesn’t do |
|---|---|---|
| Water softener (salt-based) | Removes the calcium and magnesium that cause scale | Doesn’t take out chlorine taste or most other dissolved solids |
| Salt-free conditioner | Uses no salt or drain water | Doesn’t remove hardness, so it has no dial setting |
| Whole-house carbon filter | Reduces chlorine taste and odor at every tap | Doesn’t soften |
| Reverse osmosis (under the sink) | Strips most dissolved minerals from drinking water | Too slow for a whole house; works next to a softener, not instead of one |
The best water softener for Arizona water is one sized correctly for your city’s hardness and your household, which is what the calculator above does. Brand comes after size.
Water softener installation in Phoenix: what to ask
Most installs put the softener on the main line, ahead of the water heater, near a drain. Homes built with a softener loop are the simplest; without one, a plumber has to tie into the main line. Before you hire a water softener installer or water conditioner company in Phoenix:
- Ask which hardness figure they used. For your city it should match the table above, or your own test, not a single number for “Arizona”.
- Ask for the size in grains and how many days between recharges it gives your household.
- Get the quote in writing: unit, bypass valve, drain line, haul-away of an old unit, first salt.
- Ask how long the tank, resin and valve are each covered, and who handles warranty claims.
- If plumbing work is involved, ask for their Arizona Registrar of Contractors license number.
Service, repair or replace?
Most calls for water softener repair in Phoenix turn out to be simple: an empty or crusted-over salt tank, a clock reset by a power outage, or a hardness setting that was never changed from the factory. Check those first. If scale keeps coming back with salt in the tank and the right setting, it is time for a water softener service visit; an older unit that needs a new control valve or resin may be worth replacing instead.
On a private well?
City water quality reports only cover city water. If your home in the Phoenix area draws from a private well, none of the figures on this page apply to you: test the well water for hardness (and iron, which softeners also deal with) and enter your own result in the calculator.
Phoenix hard water questions
- Does Phoenix have hard water?
- Yes. The City of Phoenix Water Services Department, in its annual water quality report for 2025, gives total hardness of 10 to 17.6 grains per gallon (172 to 302 parts per million). On the U.S. Geological Survey scale, anything above 7 grains per gallon is hard and above 10.5 is very hard.
- Where does Phoenix's water come from?
- The City of Phoenix Water Services Department says about 97 to 99 percent of its water in 2025 was surface water from the Salt and Verde rivers (through Salt River Project canals) and the Colorado River (through the Central Arizona Project aqueduct). About 20 city wells supplied the rest.
- Which part of the Valley has the hardest water?
- Of the cities we have collected so far, Chandler has the highest average: the City of Chandler gives a citywide range of 5 to 20 grains per gallon, averaging 16.5. Hardness also varies a lot inside some cities: the City of Peoria Water Services Department's 2020 hardness study found 5.1 to 19.7 across its 48 sampling stations.
- Why is Arizona water so hard?
- The Valley drinks river water that has picked up calcium and magnesium on its way here, plus some groundwater. Colorado River water, brought in by the Central Arizona Project, tends to be harder than Salt and Verde river water: the City of Mesa Water Resources Department's 2025 report gives about 16 grains per gallon for its Colorado River zones and about 12 for its Salt and Verde zone.
- What should I set my water softener to in Phoenix?
- Enter your water's hardness in grains per gallon, rounded up. Pick your city or zone in the calculator above and it shows the number. If you have tested your own water, use your own result: it is more exact than a citywide figure.