City comparison
Downey, CA is about 350 miles (550 km) from Phoenix, AZ in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 425 miles, or about 7 h 15 min 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 Downey, CA to Phoenix, AZ takes about 42 min, covering roughly 350 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.
Downey, CA is on Pacific Time and Phoenix, AZ is on Mountain Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Downey, it's 1 p.m. in Phoenix, which puts Downey 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 113,052 in Downey — about 14.2× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 12 sq mi for Downey.
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 | Downey | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,814/mo | $1,322/mo | 37.2% higher in Downey |
| Median home value | $679,000 | $340,200 | 99.6% higher in Downey |
| Median household income | $84,236 | $72,092 | 16.8% higher in Downey |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 95.8 | 11.0% higher in Downey |
| Utilities index | 155.6 | 96.2 | 61.7% higher in Downey |
| Transportation index | 104.4 | 104.1 | ≈ equal (Downey slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 104.3 | 104.0 | ≈ equal (Downey slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Downey, you'd need $79,730 in Phoenix to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 20.3% cheaper overall than Downey, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 40% higher in Downey than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Downey, you'd need about $63,784 in Phoenix to keep the same standard of living.