City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 425 miles (650 km) from San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 500 miles, or about 8 h 30 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 Phoenix, AZ to San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA takes about 50 min, covering roughly 425 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 San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA is on Pacific Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 11 a.m. in San Buenaventura (Ventura), 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 110,358 in San Buenaventura (Ventura) — about 14.6× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 22 sq mi for San Buenaventura (Ventura).
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 | San Buenaventura (Ventura) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $1,942/mo | 46.9% higher in San Buenaventura (Ventura) |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $714,000 | 109.9% higher in San Buenaventura (Ventura) |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $96,036 | 33.2% higher in San Buenaventura (Ventura) |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 105.1 | 9.6% higher in San Buenaventura (Ventura) |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 150.4 | 56.4% higher in San Buenaventura (Ventura) |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 100.7 | 3.4% higher in Phoenix |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 100.6 | 3.4% 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 Phoenix, you'd need $124,282 in San Buenaventura (Ventura) to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 19.5% cheaper overall than San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 42% higher in San Buenaventura (Ventura) than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $99,425 in San Buenaventura (Ventura) to keep the same standard of living.