Tucson, AZ vs Miami, FL
Moving from Tucson to Miami? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($343,580 → $475,622 median home) and taxes.
Tucson vs Miami 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 Tucson, AZ, you'd need about $118,072 in Miami, FL (+$18,072).
Livability — Tucson, AZ: 70 · Miami, FL: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,693 sqft in Tucson vs 1,945 sqft in Miami ($186 vs $257 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tucson, AZ | Miami, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,676 | $32,316 | +$14,640 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,091 | +$251 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $4,800 | +$840 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,656 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $4,200 | +$2,400 |
| Taxes | $7,594 | $5,772 | −$1,822 |
| Total | $37,539 | $53,835 | +$16,297 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tucson, AZ | Miami, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 112.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.87% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.5% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $6.38 |
| Median home price | $343,580 | $475,622 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $257 |
| Median rent | $1,473 | $2,693 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 10.6 | 67.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 70% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |