Trenton, NJ vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Trenton to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($446,377 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Trenton 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 Trenton, NJ, you'd need about $102,205 in Phoenix, AZ (+$2,205).
Livability — Trenton, NJ: 56 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,129 sqft in Trenton vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($235 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Trenton, NJ | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $31,476 | $20,904 | −$10,572 |
| Groceries | $4,888 | $4,919 | +$31 |
| Transportation | $3,710 | $3,960 | +$250 |
| Utilities | $2,544 | $1,668 | −$876 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $21,636 | $7,280 | −$14,356 |
| Total | $65,554 | $40,531 | −$25,023 |
Side by side
| Metric | Trenton, NJ | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $446,377 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.1% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $235 | $242 |
| Median rent | $2,623 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.2% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.60% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 2.62% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 23.5 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $86 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $171 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $65 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 23 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 23.1 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |