City comparison
Modesto, CA is about 550 miles (900 km) from Peoria, AZ in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 700 miles, or about 12 hours 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 Modesto, CA to Peoria, AZ takes about 1 h 7 min, covering roughly 550 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.
Modesto, CA is on Pacific Time and Peoria, AZ is on Mountain Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Modesto, it's 1 p.m. in Peoria, which puts Modesto 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.
Modesto has a population of 218,308, vs 191,292 in Peoria — about 1.1× larger by population. By land area, Peoria covers about 175 sq mi vs 43 sq mi for Modesto.
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 | Modesto | Peoria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,497/mo | $1,638/mo | 9.4% higher in Peoria |
| Median home value | $381,800 | $383,600 | 0.5% higher in Peoria |
| Median household income | $73,375 | $86,759 | 18.2% higher in Peoria |
| Groceries index | 105.1 | 95.8 | 9.6% higher in Modesto |
| Utilities index | 149.8 | 96.2 | 55.7% higher in Modesto |
| Transportation index | 100.7 | 104.1 | 3.4% higher in Peoria |
| Healthcare index | 100.6 | 104.0 | 3.4% higher in Peoria |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Modesto, you'd need $100,073 in Peoria to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Modesto and Peoria have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 12% higher in Peoria than in Modesto. If you earn $80,000 in Modesto, you'd need about $80,058 in Peoria to keep the same standard of living.