What Is It Like to Live in Arizona?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#28

28th out of 50 states overall.

Below average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#34

34th cheapest state, about 3% above average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $77,500 here.

How we measure cost ›

Arizona ranks 28th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 34th for affordability. It does best on dog friendly, climate, and economy, and struggles most with cost, safety, and education. A typical household earns about $68,100 a year, and the cost of living runs about 3% above average.

Why Arizona ranks #28 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Arizona scores on each, best to worst.

Dog friendly
#4 of 50
Climate
#8 of 50
Economy
#10 of 50
Green space
#12 of 50
Walkability
#24 of 50
Healthcare
#29 of 50
Air quality
#31 of 50
Cost of living
#34 of 50
Safety
#35 of 50
Education
#38 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Arizona at a glance

Typical household income

$68,100

28th highest

Typical home price

$437,000

15th highest

Overall cost of living

3% above average

34th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 6%

40th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 26 min

one way

Taxes in Arizona

See your real Arizona take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Arizona taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.