Sierra Vista vs Phoenix leftover
You'd keep $184 more a month in Phoenix
$2,570/mo leftover in Phoenix vs $2,386 in Sierra Vista after tax and rent ($184 more). +$2,208 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Sierra Vista leftover
$2,386
a month after tax and rent
Phoenix leftover
$2,570
+$184 vs Sierra Vista
Compare Sierra Vista to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Sierra Vista.
Monthly gap
Sierra Vista → Phoenix
$184
more / month in Phoenix
$2,570 in Phoenix · $2,386 in Sierra Vista · 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, 444 households moved Sierra Vista → Phoenix (avg AGI $49,574). 510 went the other way. The whole move →
+$184 / mo
| Per month | Sierra Vista | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,583 | $7,575 | +$992 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,387 | $1,706 | +$319 |
| Take-home pay | $5,196 | $5,869 | +$673 |
| Rent | $832 | $1,277 | +$445 |
| Getting around | $563 | $586 | +$23 |
| Groceries | $390 | $396 | +$6 |
| Healthcare | $439 | $446 | +$7 |
| Utilities | $244 | $248 | +$4 |
| Everything else | $342 | $347 | +$5 |
| Left over | $2,386 | $2,570 | +$184 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$87,500
Household gross, versus $79,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Sierra Vista does now.
The tax difference alone
−$298
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.1% in Sierra Vista, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Sierra Vista, AZ in full
A flat 2.5% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $991 and 280 sunny days; commutes average 23 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 → Sierra Vista →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Phoenix than Sierra Vista?
A one-bedroom is about $832 in Sierra Vista versus $1,277 in Phoenix. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $184 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 Sierra Vista 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 Sierra Vista 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.