Lake Havasu City vs Phoenix leftover
You'd keep $524 more a month in Phoenix
$2,568/mo leftover in Phoenix vs $2,044 in Lake Havasu City after tax and rent ($524 more). +$6,288 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Lake Havasu City leftover
$2,044
a month after tax and rent
Phoenix leftover
$2,568
+$524 vs Lake Havasu City
Compare Lake Havasu City to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Lake Havasu City.
Monthly gap
Lake Havasu City → Phoenix
$524
more / month in Phoenix
$2,568 in Phoenix · $2,044 in Lake Havasu City · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 565 households moved Lake Havasu City → Phoenix (avg AGI $47,253). 480 went the other way. The whole move →
+$524 / mo
| Per month | Lake Havasu City | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,417 | $7,572 | +$1,155 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,334 | $1,705 | +$371 |
| Take-home pay | $5,083 | $5,867 | +$784 |
| Rent | $1,039 | $1,277 | +$238 |
| Getting around | $585 | $586 | +$1 |
| Groceries | $390 | $396 | +$6 |
| Healthcare | $439 | $446 | +$7 |
| Utilities | $244 | $248 | +$4 |
| Everything else | $342 | $347 | +$5 |
| Left over | $2,044 | $2,568 | +$524 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$81,500
Household gross, versus $77,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Lake Havasu City does now.
The tax difference alone
−$347
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.8% in Lake Havasu City, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Lake Havasu City, AZ in full
A flat 2.5% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,237 and 273 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → Lake Havasu City →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Phoenix than Lake Havasu City?
A one-bedroom is about $1,039 in Lake Havasu City versus $1,277 in Phoenix. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $524 a month higher in Phoenix. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Phoenix have state income tax?
Phoenix is in Arizona, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Lake Havasu City to Phoenix?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Arizona tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Lake Havasu City and Phoenix moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.