City comparison
McLean, VA is about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from Phoenix, AZ in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,500 miles, or about 41 hours (about 4 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 McLean, VA to Phoenix, AZ takes about 3 h 56 min, covering roughly 2,000 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.
McLean, VA is on Eastern Time and Phoenix, AZ is on Mountain Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in McLean, it's 10 a.m. in Phoenix, which puts McLean 2 hours ahead.
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 49,587 in McLean — about 32.5× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 25 sq mi for McLean.
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 | McLean | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,319/mo | $1,322/mo | 151.1% higher in McLean |
| Median home value | $1,257,900 | $340,200 | 269.8% higher in McLean |
| Median household income | $250,001 | $72,092 | 246.8% higher in McLean |
| Groceries index | 104.3 | 95.8 | 8.8% higher in McLean |
| Utilities index | 105.6 | 96.2 | 9.8% higher in McLean |
| Transportation index | 102.2 | 104.1 | 1.9% higher in Phoenix |
| Healthcare index | 101.6 | 104.0 | 2.4% higher in Phoenix |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in McLean, you'd need $85,043 in Phoenix to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 15% cheaper overall than McLean, VA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 35% higher in McLean than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in McLean, you'd need about $68,034 in Phoenix to keep the same standard of living.