City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 350 miles (550 km) from South Gate, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 450 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 Phoenix, AZ to South Gate, CA 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.
Phoenix, AZ is on Mountain Time and South Gate, CA is on Pacific Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 11 a.m. in South Gate, 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 92,381 in South Gate — about 17.4× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 7.2 sq mi for South Gate.
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 | South Gate | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $1,400/mo | 5.9% higher in South Gate |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $578,900 | 70.2% higher in South Gate |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $67,188 | 7.3% higher in Phoenix |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 106.4 | 11.0% higher in South Gate |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 155.6 | 61.7% higher in South Gate |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 104.4 | ≈ equal (South Gate slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 104.3 | ≈ equal (South Gate 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 Phoenix, you'd need $124,282 in South Gate to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 19.5% cheaper overall than South Gate, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 38% higher in South Gate than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $99,425 in South Gate to keep the same standard of living.