City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from Waltham, MA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,900 miles, or about 48 hours (about 5 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 Waltham, MA takes about 4 h 34 min, covering roughly 2,300 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 Waltham, MA is on Eastern Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 2 p.m. in Waltham, 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 64,711 in Waltham — about 24.9× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 13 sq mi for Waltham.
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 | Waltham | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $2,141/mo | 62.0% higher in Waltham |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $679,000 | 99.6% higher in Waltham |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $113,443 | 57.4% higher in Waltham |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 99.8 | 4.1% higher in Waltham |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 144.3 | 50.0% higher in Waltham |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 102.9 | 1.1% higher in Phoenix |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 103.7 | ≈ equal (Phoenix 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 $116,225 in Waltham to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 14% cheaper overall than Waltham, MA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 26% higher in Waltham than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $92,980 in Waltham to keep the same standard of living.