How dark is the sky in Scottsdale, AZ?

Satellite radiance puts Scottsdale in the rural band. Little local light dome. Most stars are visible; the Milky Way is faint but often findable away from town lights. That's brighter than 10.2% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

The nearest darker sky to Scottsdale

27 miles from Scottsdale, straight-line, sits Peoria, AZ, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Scottsdale's own rural band.

Peoria, AZ is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Scottsdale against the rest of the dataset

Scottsdale, AZ counts roughly 246,170 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Scottsdale ranks 325 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.