West ranking
27 Arizona cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 84
Index 111
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
| # | City | Cost index | Median rent | Median income | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Vista | 84 | $1,080/mo | $70,899 | 45K | Compare → |
| 2 | Yuma | 88 | $1,028/mo | $59,312 | 96K | Compare → |
| 3 | Lake Havasu City | 91 | $1,163/mo | $64,027 | 57K | Compare → |
| 4 | Tucson | 95 | $991/mo | $52,049 | 541K | Compare → |
| 5 | Catalina Foothills | 96 | $1,198/mo | $110,660 | 51K | Compare → |
| 6 | Casas Adobes | 96 | $1,383/mo | $75,997 | 70K | Compare → |
| 7 | Oro Valley | 97 | $1,555/mo | $101,394 | 47K | Compare → |
| 8 | Marana | 97 | $1,579/mo | $105,624 | 53K | Compare → |
| 9 | Prescott | 98 | $1,085/mo | $66,330 | 46K | Compare → |
| 10 | Prescott Valley | 99 | $1,348/mo | $66,617 | 47K | Compare → |
| 11 | Flagstaff | 103 | $1,469/mo | $65,652 | 76K | Compare → |
| 12 | Casa Grande | 108 | $1,224/mo | $64,535 | 55K | Compare → |
| 13 | Glendale | 108 | $1,268/mo | $66,375 | 248K | Compare → |
| 14 | Phoenix | 109 | $1,322/mo | $72,092 | 1.6M | Compare → |
| 15 | Mesa | 109 | $1,352/mo | $73,766 | 503K | Compare → |
| 16 | Tempe | 109 | $1,472/mo | $72,022 | 181K | Compare → |
| 17 | Avondale | 109 | $1,562/mo | $76,496 | 89K | Compare → |
| 18 | Buckeye | 109 | $1,597/mo | $94,188 | 95K | Compare → |
| 19 | Peoria | 110 | $1,638/mo | $86,759 | 191K | Compare → |
| 20 | Chandler | 110 | $1,675/mo | $99,374 | 276K | Compare → |
| 21 | Goodyear | 110 | $1,711/mo | $97,307 | 98K | Compare → |
| 22 | San Tan Valley | 110 | $1,729/mo | $88,466 | 101K | Compare → |
| 23 | Scottsdale | 110 | $1,768/mo | $104,197 | 241K | Compare → |
| 24 | Maricopa | 110 | $1,768/mo | $88,795 | 60K | Compare → |
| 25 | Surprise | 110 | $1,822/mo | $87,756 | 146K | Compare → |
| 26 | Gilbert | 110 | $1,839/mo | $115,179 | 267K | Compare → |
| 27 | Queen Creek | 111 | $2,030/mo | $127,182 | 62K | Compare → |
If you're weighing a move to Arizona, the case usually comes down to a few specific things — most clearly incomes run above the us median and phoenix pulls major-metro weight, plus 3 more. Here's the detail.
Median household income across Arizona cities averages about $83,446 — a step above the US median of around $75k. Not a uniformly high-wage state, but the labor market here pays more than most of the country.
Phoenix (population about 1,609,456) gives Arizona a genuine major-city anchor. Big airports, headquartered employers, professional sports, specialty hospitals, and the kind of job market you don't get in mid-sized towns — and you can live close to it or an hour away, depending on the lifestyle you want.
We track 27 Arizona cities with full cost data, ranging from small towns to major metros. That means you can actually pick a fit — urban density vs. small-town quiet, expensive vs. cheap, big-job-market vs. easier-commute — instead of having "the state's one big city" be your only option.
Arizona's geography is dominated by real mountain terrain — the kind that supports ski resorts in winter and serious hiking and trail networks the rest of the year. Outdoor life is a defining piece of how the state is lived, not a thing you have to drive eight hours to access.
Arizona runs hot in the summer, but the winters are the trade-off most newcomers fall in love with — sunny, dry, in the 60s and 70s through the actual cold months. Outdoor life from October to April runs essentially uninterrupted, which is unusual in the US.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Arizona (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Arizona, Sierra Vista is the most affordable city we track (cost index 84, with median rent around $1,080/mo), while Queen Creek sits at the top of the range with an index of 111—roughly 32% pricier than Sierra Vista. Use the table above to compare any Arizona city directly against Sierra Vista.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.