Moving from Phoenix to Anchorage
You'd keep $237 more a month in Anchorage
+$2,844 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Phoenix leftover
$2,577
a month after tax and rent
Anchorage leftover
$2,814
+$237 vs Phoenix
| Per month | Phoenix | Anchorage | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $8,178 | +$594 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $1,726 | +$17 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $6,452 | +$577 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,346 | +$70 |
| Getting around | $586 | $636 | +$50 |
| Groceries | $396 | $457 | +$61 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $514 | +$68 |
| Utilities | $248 | $286 | +$38 |
| Everything else | $347 | $400 | +$53 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $2,814 | +$237 |
To break even in Anchorage, you'd need to earn
$94,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Phoenix does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,910
A year, in state and local income tax. Alaska has no wage income tax.
More about Anchorage
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
Anchorage, AK in full
No state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,602 and 138 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Anchorage on Anchorage wages.
Anchorage → Phoenix →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Anchorage than Phoenix?
A one-bedroom is about $1,276 in Phoenix versus $1,346 in Anchorage. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $237 a month higher in Anchorage. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Anchorage have state income tax?
Anchorage is in Alaska, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Phoenix to Anchorage?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Alaska 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.
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.