City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from University CDP (Hillsborough County), FL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,200 miles, or about 37 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 Phoenix, AZ to University CDP (Hillsborough County), FL takes about 3 h 35 min, covering roughly 1,800 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 University CDP (Hillsborough County), FL is on Eastern Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 2 p.m. in University CDP (Hillsborough County), which puts Phoenix 2 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.
Phoenix has a population of 1,609,456, vs 49,148 in University CDP (Hillsborough County) — about 32.7× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 6.3 sq mi for University CDP (Hillsborough County).
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 | University CDP (Hillsborough County) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $1,105/mo | 19.6% higher in Phoenix |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $141,400 | 140.6% higher in Phoenix |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $34,833 | 107.0% higher in Phoenix |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 95.8 | ≈ equal (Phoenix slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 89.1 | 8.0% higher in Phoenix |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 97.8 | 6.4% higher in Phoenix |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 97.3 | 6.9% 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 $98,554 in University CDP (Hillsborough County) to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
University CDP (Hillsborough County), FL is about 1.4% cheaper overall than Phoenix, AZ, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 2% higher in University CDP (Hillsborough County) than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $78,843 in University CDP (Hillsborough County) to keep the same standard of living.