City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) from Renton, WA 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 Phoenix, AZ to Renton, WA takes about 2 h 11 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.
Phoenix, AZ is on Mountain Time and Renton, WA is on Pacific Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 11 a.m. in Renton, which puts Phoenix 1 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 105,355 in Renton — about 15.3× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 24 sq mi for Renton.
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 | Phoenix | Renton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $1,864/mo | 41.0% higher in Renton |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $576,800 | 69.5% higher in Renton |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $92,292 | 28.0% higher in Renton |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 104.0 | 8.5% higher in Renton |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 95.7 | ≈ equal (Phoenix slightly higher) |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 106.6 | 2.5% higher in Renton |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 106.6 | 2.5% higher in Renton |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Phoenix, you'd need $114,134 in Renton to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 12.4% cheaper overall than Renton, WA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 26% higher in Renton than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $91,308 in Renton to keep the same standard of living.