Boston, MA vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Boston to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Phoenix at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Boston, MA, you'd need about $94,821 in Phoenix, AZ (−$5,179).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($436 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $20,904 | −$17,628 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,919 | −$121 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,960 | +$750 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,668 | −$1,512 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,800 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $7,280 | −$10,413 |
| Total | $69,455 | $40,531 | −$28,924 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $242 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |