Phoenix, AZ → Tucson, AZ
Moving to Tucson costs you $59 a month
−$708 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 3,473 households moved Phoenix → Tucson (avg AGI $64,569). 4,034 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Phoenix | Tucson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $6,958 | −$625 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $1,508 | −$201 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $5,450 | −$424 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,022 | −$254 |
| Getting around | $586 | $547 | −$39 |
| Groceries | $396 | $376 | −$20 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $423 | −$23 |
| Utilities | $248 | $235 | −$13 |
| Everything else | $347 | $329 | −$18 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $2,518 | −$59 |
To break even in Tucson, you'd need to earn
$84,500
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
+$188
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.5% in Phoenix, 21.7% in Tucson.
More about Tucson
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
Tucson, AZ in full
Phoenix weather and hiking at a serious discount, on lower wages.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Tucson on Tucson wages.
Tucson → Phoenix →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.