Cost of living in Phoenix, AZ
The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area (5,186,958 people) ranks #33 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.
Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.
See all 149 cities
Price level, from cheaper to pricier.
- The Villages, FL 85.4
- McAllen, TX 85.9
- Springfield, MO 88.6
- Wichita, KS 88.9
- Jackson, MS 89.0
- Tulsa, OK 89.2
- Columbus, GA 89.3
- Little Rock, AR 89.4
- El Paso, TX 89.9
- Oklahoma City, OK 90.4
- Sioux Falls, SD 90.6
- Baton Rouge, LA 90.8
- Clarksville, TN 90.9
- Fargo, ND 90.9
- Killeen, TX 91.1
- Spartanburg, SC 91.1
- Fayetteville, AR 91.4
- Chattanooga, TN 91.5
- Toledo, OH 91.5
- Birmingham, AL 91.6
- Des Moines, IA 91.7
- Augusta, GA 91.9
- Omaha, NE 91.9
- Fayetteville, NC 92.0
- Winston-Salem, NC 92.0
- Jacksonville, NC 92.1
- Memphis, TN 92.2
- Kansas City, MO 92.5
- Fort Wayne, IN 92.6
- Knoxville, TN 92.6
- New Orleans, LA 92.6
- Dayton, OH 92.7
- Greensboro, NC 92.9
- Lexington, KY 92.9
- Huntsville, AL 93.1
- Louisville, KY 93.1
- Greenville, SC 93.3
- Akron, OH 93.4
- Billings, MT 93.5
- Myrtle Beach, SC 93.6
- Columbia, SC 93.7
- Cleveland, OH 93.9
- Daphne, AL 94.7
- Pittsburgh, PA 94.7
- San Antonio, TX 94.7
- St. Louis, MO 95.1
- Ocala, FL 95.2
- Savannah, GA 95.2
- Cincinnati, OH 95.4
- Albuquerque, NM 95.5
- Columbus, OH 95.5
- Grand Rapids, MI 95.5
- Indianapolis, IN 95.7
- Syracuse, NY 95.7
- Buffalo, NY 95.8
- Nashville, TN 96.3
- Wilmington, NC 96.4
- Asheville, NC 96.5
- Cheyenne, WY 96.5
- Gainesville, FL 96.7
- Milwaukee, WI 96.9
- Tucson, AZ 96.9
- Crestview, FL 97.0
- Rochester, NY 97.0
- Lakeland, FL 97.1
- Charlotte, NC 97.3
- Madison, WI 97.3
- Panama City, FL 97.3
- Durham, NC 97.6
- Pensacola, FL 97.7
- Richmond, VA 97.9
- Virginia Beach, VA 97.9
- Hilton Head Island, SC 98.0
- Austin, TX 98.1
- Provo, UT 98.2
- Raleigh, NC 98.2
- Prescott, AZ 98.3
- Boise, ID 98.4
- Houston, TX 98.6
- Harrisburg, PA 98.7
- Daytona Beach, FL 99.4
- Jacksonville, FL 99.5
- Albany, NY 99.6
- Allentown, PA 100.0
- Palm Bay, FL 100.0
- Atlanta, GA 100.1
- Greeley, CO 100.2
- Las Vegas, NV 100.2
- Port St. Lucie, FL 100.2
- Detroit, MI 100.3
- Ogden, UT 100.3
- Spokane, WA 100.3
- Norwich, CT 100.4
- Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
- Colorado Springs, CO 100.7
- Ann Arbor, MI 100.9
- Bakersfield, CA 100.9
- Burlington, VT 100.9
- Salt Lake City, UT 100.9
- Tampa, FL 100.9
- Charleston, SC 101.0
- Reno, NV 101.0
- Fort Collins, CO 101.1
- Orlando, FL 101.4
- Eugene, OR 101.6
- Providence, RI 101.8
- Portland, ME 101.9
- Fresno, CA 102.2
- Cape Coral, FL 102.3
- Sarasota, FL 102.4
- Worcester, MA 102.5
- Philadelphia, PA 102.6
- Hartford, CT 102.7
- Dallas, TX 103.1
- Naples, FL 103.2
- Trenton, NJ 103.2
- Phoenix, AZ 103.3
- Bend, OR 103.6
- Chicago, IL 103.6
- Olympia, WA 103.7
- Baltimore, MD 104.5
- New Haven, CT 104.6
- Minneapolis, MN 104.8
- Stockton, CA 105.1
- Boulder, CO 105.2
- Anchorage, AK 105.4
- Portland, OR 105.4
- Bremerton, WA 105.6
- Manchester, NH 105.7
- Denver, CO 105.8
- Riverside, CA 106.4
- Sacramento, CA 106.7
- Bridgeport, CT 106.9
- Santa Rosa, CA 107.8
- Boston, MA 108.3
- Vallejo, CA 108.5
- Santa Barbara, CA 108.8
- Washington, D.C. 108.9
- Salinas, CA 109.0
- Poughkeepsie, NY 109.4
- San Jose, CA 110.4
- Oxnard, CA 110.5
- Honolulu, HI 111.0
- Seattle, WA 111.1
- San Diego, CA 111.9
- New York, NY 112.6
- Los Angeles, CA 113.6
- Miami, FL 114.2
- San Francisco, CA 115.6
Compare Phoenix with your city
See what you'd need to earn in Phoenix to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from Los Angeles, CA, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), using its median household income as an illustrative single-earner salary. Household income can include several earners and other income; it is not a typical individual wage. Pick your own city, salary and filing status.
Equal salary in Phoenix: $80,200
Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $80,200 in Phoenix, AZ to match $95,000 in Los Angeles, CA ($14,800 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary. Uses California and Arizona state income tax; neither city levies a resident income tax.
Prices and housing cover the metro area; taxes use California and Arizona, their principal states. A metro can span several states; living in its other state can change the tax result.
What things cost in Phoenix
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.
Taxes in Phoenix
In this fixed example, one single filer earning a $90,000 W-2 salary keeps $70,298 after 2026 federal tax ($10,970), Social Security and Medicare ($6,885) and Arizona income tax ($1,848). The salary is rounded from median household income, not an observed individual wage. This example stays fixed when you change the calculator.
Housing
| Measure | Phoenix area |
|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,819/mo |
| Median home value | $470,600 |
| Median property tax | $1,883/yr |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $2,822 |
| Median household income | $90,133 |
Climate and jobs in Phoenix
In the Phoenix area the average January low is 46°F and the average July high 107°F, and the area has about 173 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 3.8% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $51,380 a year, 1% above the U.S. median.
| Climate | 1991–2020 average |
|---|---|
| January low | 46°F |
| July high | 107°F |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 173 a year |
| Precipitation | 7.2 in a year |
| Snowfall | 0 in a year |
| Jobs and pay | Metro area | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate, 2025 average | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Median wage, all jobs (May 2025) | $51,380 | $50,980 |
| Wage and salary jobs (May 2025) | 2.4 million | 155.5 million |
Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport station (USW00023183), with snowfall from Tempe ASU (USC00028499) because the main station doesn't record it. Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.
Retiring in Phoenix
Our modeled retiree budget is about $3,095 a month here with a home owned outright, or $4,210 renting. It uses spending benchmarks for households with a reference person age 65 or older (BLS 2024), adjusted for local prices. These are household-based estimates, not observed spending by a single retiree in Phoenix. See where your budget goes furthest.
Where people move to and from Phoenix
- Phoenix to Tucson
- Phoenix to Los Angeles
- Phoenix to Prescott
- Phoenix to Seattle
- Phoenix to Dallas
- Phoenix to Chicago
- Phoenix to Denver
- Phoenix to San Diego
- Los Angeles to Phoenix
- Tucson to Phoenix
- Chicago to Phoenix
- Seattle to Phoenix
- Riverside to Phoenix
- San Diego to Phoenix
- Denver to Phoenix
- Prescott to Phoenix
IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.
Natural hazard risk
RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores for the Phoenix area is 99.3 of 100 (very high county-score mean), with modeled expected losses of about $482 per resident per year. A mean of county percentiles is not an official FEMA metro rating or a national metro percentile. It describes the counties in the metro; your property's risk can differ. Disaster risk by county in Arizona.
The vertical line marks county-score scale midpoint (50).
Frequently asked questions
What salary do you need to live in Phoenix?
In a fixed single-filer W-2 example living inside the principal city, about $80,200 in Phoenix matches the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax. The example uses 2026 federal taxes, Arizona state taxes and modeled resident local taxes where applicable. It stays fixed when calculator inputs change. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $72,760, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $120,930.
Is Phoenix expensive?
The Phoenix metro area's price level is 103.3 (U.S. = 100), #33 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing rents price index is 121.2, 21% above the U.S. average.
Are people moving to Phoenix?
Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Phoenix had a net gain of about 10,980 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).
What is the weather like in Phoenix?
In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Phoenix area (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport weather station), the average January low is 46°F and the average July high 107°F. The area has about 173 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 7.2 inches of precipitation a year and almost no snow.
What are jobs and pay like in Phoenix?
The Phoenix metro area's unemployment rate averaged 3.8% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $51,380 a year in May 2025, 1% above the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
What natural disasters affect Phoenix?
RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores is 99.3 out of 100 (very high county-score mean). This is not an official FEMA metro rating or a national metro percentile. The highest county-score means by hazard are heat wave, riverine flooding, wildfire.
Compare Phoenix with other cities
Moving from Phoenix to…
Cities with similar prices
- Naples, FL 103.2
- Trenton, NJ 103.2
- Dallas, TX 103.1
- Chicago, IL 103.6
- Bend, OR 103.6
- Olympia, WA 103.7
- Moving from Arizona
State-agency links identify the responsible tax office; they do not verify every modeled rule. Use forms and guidance for the year you are filing.