
El Paso vs Phoenix
$25/mo more in Phoenix
El PasoPhoenixAbout 399 miles apart, close enough to drive.
- Phoenix leaves you more
- Rent under 30% of pay
- 299 sunny days
Same paycheck, two cities. $2,560/mo in Phoenix. $2,535/mo in El Paso. +$300 a year.
El Paso
$2,535
left each month
Phoenix
$2,560
+$25 vs El Paso
Compare
Same paycheck, another city.
Next
In 2022-2023, 558 households moved El Paso → Phoenix (avg AGI $50,177). 454 went the other way. The whole move →
+$25 / mo
See full breakdown
| Per month | El Paso | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $7,560 | +$935 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,265 | $1,701 | +$436 |
| Take-home pay | $5,360 | $5,859 | +$499 |
| Rent | $1,008 | $1,277 | +$269 |
| Getting around | $527 | $586 | +$59 |
| Groceries | $356 | $396 | +$40 |
| Healthcare | $401 | $446 | +$45 |
| Utilities | $223 | $248 | +$25 |
| Everything else | $312 | $347 | +$35 |
| Left over | $2,535 | $2,560 | +$25 |
Salary to match El Paso
$90,500
Gross pay in Phoenix that leaves the same amount as $79,500 in El Paso.
Tax difference
−$1,903
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 19.1% in El Paso, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
El Paso, TX in full
297 sunny days and the lowest rents in Texas, on the lowest wages.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The other way
Start in Phoenix.
Phoenix → El Paso →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Phoenix than El Paso?
For one adult in a one-bedroom, Phoenix leaves about $25 more a month. A one-bedroom is about $1,008 in El Paso and $1,277 in Phoenix.
Does Phoenix have state income tax?
Phoenix is in Arizona, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from El Paso to Phoenix?
The paycheck is taxed in Arizona. Rent stays at the same bedroom count. What you keep is the difference.
Left over each month is take-home pay minus rent and the rest of the bills. The gap between El Paso and Phoenix changes with the job, remote or local pay, and bedrooms. How we figure this · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.