Richmond, VA vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Richmond to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($397,705 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Richmond 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 Richmond, VA, you'd need about $106,446 in Phoenix, AZ (+$6,446).
Livability — Richmond, VA: 66 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,514 sqft in Richmond vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($199 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Richmond, VA | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,156 | $20,904 | −$252 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,919 | +$66 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,960 | +$880 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,668 | −$204 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,800 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,041 | $7,280 | −$2,760 |
| Total | $42,502 | $40,531 | −$1,971 |
Side by side
| Metric | Richmond, VA | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.78% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $397,705 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $199 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,763 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.76% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.8 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |