City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 350 miles (550 km) from Westminster, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 425 miles, or about 7 h 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 Westminster, CA takes about 41 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 Westminster, CA is on Pacific Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 11 a.m. in Westminster, 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 90,638 in Westminster — about 17.8× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 10 sq mi for Westminster.
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 | Westminster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $1,977/mo | 49.5% higher in Westminster |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $777,100 | 128.4% higher in Westminster |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $80,271 | 11.3% higher in Westminster |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 106.4 | 11.0% higher in Westminster |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 155.6 | 61.7% higher in Westminster |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 104.4 | ≈ equal (Westminster slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 104.3 | ≈ equal (Westminster 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 $125,875 in Westminster to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 20.6% cheaper overall than Westminster, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 41% higher in Westminster than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $100,700 in Westminster to keep the same standard of living.