Phoenix, AZ vs Brownsville, TX
Moving from Phoenix to Brownsville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $207,150 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix vs Brownsville 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $81,871 in Brownsville, TX (−$18,129).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · Brownsville, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 5,071 sqft in Brownsville ($242 vs $99 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | Brownsville, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $17,520 | −$3,384 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $4,647 | −$272 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,675 | −$285 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,836 | +$168 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $3,600 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $4,718 | −$2,562 |
| Total | $40,531 | $35,996 | −$4,535 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | Brownsville, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 85.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | 0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $4.88 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $207,150 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $99 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $1,460 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.69% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 7.2 | 32.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |