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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Arizona does this very well. Families love the Grand Canyon State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Arizona that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Arizona for 2022.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Arizona? That would be Sedona.
the 2016-2020 American Community Survey for the 56 places in Arizona with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Arizona for 2022:
What's the most expensive place to live in Arizona? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Sedona is the most expensive place to live in Arizona.
So hopefully Winslow (the cheapest place to live in Arizona) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Arizona and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Arizona For 2022
1. Sedona
/10
Population: 10,341
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.9x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.6x (6th most expensive)
More on Sedona: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Sedona comes in at $57,434 and the median home value is $510,800 for 2022.
2. Flagstaff
/10
Population: 73,319
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.2x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.6x (4th most expensive)
More on Flagstaff: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Flagstaff comes in at $58,685 and the median home value is $362,700 for 2022.
3. Chino Valley
/10
Population: 11,362
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 12)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.6x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.6x (9th most expensive)
More on Chino Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Chino Valley comes in at $46,857 and the median home value is $261,800 for 2022.
4. Tempe
/10
Population: 191,607
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.8x (10th most expensive)
More on Tempe: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Tempe comes in at $61,290 and the median home value is $287,600 for 2022.
5. Cottonwood
/10
Population: 12,228
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.3x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 41.1x (2nd most expensive)
More on Cottonwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cottonwood comes in at $37,146 and the median home value is $195,200 for 2022.
6. Prescott Valley
/10
Population: 45,592
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.8x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.2x (12th most expensive)
More on Prescott Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Prescott Valley comes in at $54,315 and the median home value is $260,400 for 2022.
7. Fountain Hills
/10
Population: 25,167
Rank Last Year: 19 (Up 11)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.3x (34th most expensive)
More on Fountain Hills: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Fountain Hills comes in at $87,080 and the median home value is $408,600 for 2022.
8. Scottsdale
/10
Population: 254,995
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.4x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 62.7x (4most expensive)
More on Scottsdale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Scottsdale comes in at $91,042 and the median home value is $493,200 for 2022.
9. Paradise Valley
/10
Population: 14,502
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.8x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 67.5x (52nd most expensive)
More on Paradise Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Paradise Valley comes in at $212,773 and the median home value is $1,663,200 for 2022.
10. Litchfield Park
/10
Population: 6,228
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.7x (24th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.6x (22nd most expensive)
More on Litchfield Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Litchfield Park comes in at $95,625 and the median home value is $351,200 for 2022.
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Grand Canyon State For 2022
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2016-2020 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Arizona to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 56 places in Arizona that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Arizona according to the data is Sedona. You can download the data here.
Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Arizona For 2022
Well there you have it, the places in Arizona that have the highest cost of living, with Sedona ranking as the most expensive city in the Grand Canyon State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Arizona according to the data:
- Winslow
- Douglas
- Safford
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Arizona
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arizona
- Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Arizona
- Safest Places In Arizona
- Worst Places To Live In Arizona
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Arizona
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sedona | 3.0 |
| 2 | Flagstaff | 5.0 |
| 3 | Chino Valley | 10.67 |
| 4 | Tempe | 11.67 |
| 5 | Cottonwood | 13.33 |
| 6 | Prescott Valley | 13.33 |
| 7 | Fountain Hills | 16.67 |
| 8 | Scottsdale | 16.67 |
| 9 | Paradise Valley | 18.33 |
| 10 | Litchfield Park | 18.33 |
| 11 | Surprise | 18.67 |
| 12 | Lake Havasu City | 19.33 |
| 13 | Payson | 19.67 |
| 14 | Youn | 19.67 |
| 15 | Prescott | 19.67 |
| 16 | Phoenix | 20.33 |
| 17 | Peoria | 21.67 |
| 18 | Mesa | 21.67 |
| 19 | Glendale | 21.67 |
| 20 | Camp Verde | 22.33 |
| 21 | Chandler | 24.0 |
| 22 | Goodyear | 24.33 |
| 23 | Tolleson | 24.67 |
| 24 | Nogales | 25.33 |
| 25 | Avondale | 26.0 |
| 26 | Tucson | 26.33 |
| 27 | Oro Valley | 26.67 |
| 28 | El Mirage | 26.67 |
| 29 | Bisbee | 27.0 |
| 30 | Queen Creek | 27.0 |
| 31 | Gilbert | 27.0 |
| 32 | Show Low | 27.33 |
| 33 | Bullhead City | 29.67 |
| 34 | Maricopa | 30.67 |
| 35 | Wickenburg | 31.67 |
| 36 | South Tucson | 32.0 |
| 37 | Casa Grande | 34.33 |
| 38 | Kingman | 35.0 |
| 39 | Eloy | 35.0 |
| 40 | Marana | 36.67 |
| 41 | Yuma | 37.33 |
| 42 | Sierra Vista | 37.67 |
| 43 | Sahuarita | 39.0 |
| 44 | Florence | 40.67 |
| 45 | Thatcher | 42.0 |
| 46 | Guadalupe | 42.33 |
| 47 | Somerton | 42.67 |
| 48 | Snowflake | 43.33 |
| 49 | San Luis | 43.67 |
| 50 | Apache Junction | 44.0 |
| 51 | Globe | 47.0 |
| 52 | Coolidge | 47.33 |
| 53 | Holbrook | 49.33 |
| 54 | Safford | 50.67 |
| 55 | Douglas | 51.33 |
| 56 | Winslow | 54.33 |