City comparison
Burien, WA is about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) from Phoenix, AZ in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,400 miles, or about 23 hours (about 2 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Burien, WA to Phoenix, AZ takes about 2 h 12 min, covering roughly 1,100 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Burien, WA is on Pacific Time and Phoenix, AZ is on Mountain Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Burien, it's 1 p.m. in Phoenix, which puts Burien 1 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Phoenix has a population of 1,609,456, vs 51,505 in Burien — about 31.2× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 10 sq mi for Burien.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Burien | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,649/mo | $1,322/mo | 24.7% higher in Burien |
| Median home value | $566,500 | $340,200 | 66.5% higher in Burien |
| Median household income | $84,583 | $72,092 | 17.3% higher in Burien |
| Groceries index | 104.0 | 95.8 | 8.5% higher in Burien |
| Utilities index | 95.7 | 96.2 | ≈ equal (Phoenix slightly higher) |
| Transportation index | 106.6 | 104.1 | 2.5% higher in Burien |
| Healthcare index | 106.6 | 104.0 | 2.5% higher in Burien |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Burien, you'd need $88,078 in Phoenix to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 11.9% cheaper overall than Burien, WA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 25% higher in Burien than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Burien, you'd need about $70,462 in Phoenix to keep the same standard of living.