Compare / Los Angeles to Phoenix
Los Angeles, CA vs Phoenix, AZ
Simple answer
You'd likely save $1,230 a month in Phoenix.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $1,230: Los Angeles is higher at $2,964 versus $1,734.
California taxes wages at rates up to 13.30%. Arizona taxes wages at a flat 2.50%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.5 percentage points, higher in California. The effective property tax gap is 0.28 percentage points, higher in California.
After a move from California to Arizona, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Los Angeles lines up with about $68,231 in Phoenix on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,964
- HUD area
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $2,114
- All-items price parity
- 113.6
- Goods price parity
- 106.6
- Utilities price parity
- 158.6
- Mean commute
- 30.7 min
- Median household income
- $96,405
Phoenix
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,734
- HUD area
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,819
- All-items price parity
- 103.3
- Goods price parity
- 95.0
- Utilities price parity
- 93.3
- Mean commute
- 27.6 min
- Median household income
- $90,133
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$68,231
Salary in Phoenix that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$65,650
Gross salary in Phoenix whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$43,877
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | California | Arizona |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 13.30% | 2.50% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.0% | 8.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.71% | 0.43% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,828 a year in California and $1,716 in Arizona. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Arizona
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in California and once in Arizona. This is an illustration, not your application.
| Program | Los Angeles | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Los Angeles
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Los Angeles.
- Los Angeles and McAllen · rent gap $1,947
- Los Angeles and Wichita · rent gap $1,921
- Los Angeles and Little Rock · rent gap $1,843
- Los Angeles and Toledo · rent gap $1,819
- Los Angeles and El Paso · rent gap $1,818
- Los Angeles and Baton Rouge · rent gap $1,815
- Los Angeles and Columbia · rent gap $1,738
- Los Angeles and Tulsa · rent gap $1,735
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.