Southwest · Updated October 2026
Arizona in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,616/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
23.8%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
2.5%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.43%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
99.9
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
53rd
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Arizona stands out: the 8th lightest state and local tax bill, the 3rd lowest property taxes and the lowest top income-tax rate among the 50 states.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 5.1% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 8th lowest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Phoenix (Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 68°F | 47°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 86°F | 62°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 105°F | 82°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 89°F | 66°F |
$1,734/mo two-bedroom · $1,493 one-bedroom (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA)
Phoenix is a vast, flat, sun-baked grid of suburbs with genuinely dangerous summer heat and a cheap, endlessly expanding housing supply. Growth is rapid, water is the long-term question, and winters are close to perfect.
$1,405/mo two-bedroom · $1,092 one-bedroom (Tucson, AZ MSA)
Tucson is smaller, funkier and cooler than Phoenix, at higher elevation in the Sonoran Desert, built around the University of Arizona. Strong Mexican food and desert-hiking culture, lower wages, and a more bohemian, less corporate feel.
$1,734/mo two-bedroom · $1,493 one-bedroom (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA)
Scottsdale is affluent Phoenix — golf, spas, glossy dining and a busy nightlife district, with newer housing and higher prices than the rest of the valley. Same extreme summer heat, more manicured surroundings.
$1,729/mo two-bedroom · $1,555 one-bedroom (Flagstaff, AZ MSA)
Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet in a ponderosa pine forest — real snow, cool summers, and nothing like the desert stereotype of Arizona. A university town near the Grand Canyon, with tight housing supply and high costs relative to wages.
$1,550/mo two-bedroom · $1,242 one-bedroom (Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ MSA)
Prescott is a mile-high former territorial capital with a historic courthouse square, pine forest and four mild seasons. Popular with retirees, so it skews older, and wildfire risk and water limits shape its growth.
$1,244/mo two-bedroom · $948 one-bedroom (Yuma, AZ MSA)
Yuma is a sunny desert city on the Colorado River near California and Mexico, with winter vegetable farming and military bases. Extremely hot summers, low housing costs, and a big seasonal influx of winter visitors.
$1,729/mo two-bedroom · $1,555 one-bedroom (Flagstaff, AZ MSA)
Sedona is a small red-rock town built around scenery, spiritual tourism and hiking. Beautiful and expensive, with almost no workforce housing, heavy traffic on its two main roads, and a population skewing older and wealthy.
$1,734/mo two-bedroom · $1,493 one-bedroom (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA)
Tempe is the dense, young, walkable part of the Phoenix metro, built around Arizona State University and a light-rail line. More urban and more expensive per square foot than its neighbours, with a student-driven social scene.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Arizona’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 2.5% (Arizona tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 5.1% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,616 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,361, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $143 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 99.9 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 118.1 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 23.8% of the state’s median household income of $81,486.
Arizona recorded 421.9 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 14th highest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are wildfires and flooding. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arizona’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 53rd percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Phoenix, Tucson, Scottsdale, Flagstaff and Prescott. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.