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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 2023.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Arizona? That would be Sedona.
the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 53 places in Arizona with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Arizona for 2023:
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 Globe (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 2023
1. Sedona
/10
Population: 9,723
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.7x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.9x (10th most expensive)
More on Sedona: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Sedona comes in at $58,901 and the median home value is $569,800 for 2023.
2. Flagstaff
/10
Population: 76,228
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.4x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 43.5x (3rd most expensive)
More on Flagstaff: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Flagstaff comes in at $61,026 and the median home value is $388,500 for 2023.
3. Tempe
/10
Population: 178,862
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.0x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.6x (8th most expensive)
More on Tempe: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Tempe comes in at $64,080 and the median home value is $321,300 for 2023.
4. Chino Valley
/10
Population: 12,854
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.6x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.4x (6th most expensive)
More on Chino Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Chino Valley comes in at $46,893 and the median home value is $264,800 for 2023.
5. Paradise Valley
/10
Population: 12,666
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.7x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 59.0x (32nd most expensive)
More on Paradise Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Paradise Valley comes in at $203,659 and the median home value is $1,778,000 for 2023.
6. Cottonwood
/10
Population: 12,073
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.4x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 42.2x (most expensive)
More on Cottonwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cottonwood comes in at $39,437 and the median home value is $212,500 for 2023.
7. Prescott Valley
/10
Population: 46,014
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.2x (16th most expensive)
More on Prescott Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Prescott Valley comes in at $60,033 and the median home value is $283,700 for 2023.
8. Tolleson
/10
Population: 7,180
Rank Last Year: 24 (Up 15)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.6x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.4x (4th most expensive)
More on Tolleson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Tolleson comes in at $48,002 and the median home value is $218,600 for 2023.
9. Scottsdale
/10
Population: 238,685
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.5x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 61.7x (38th most expensive)
More on Scottsdale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Scottsdale comes in at $97,409 and the median home value is $540,000 for 2023.
10. Litchfield Park
/10
Population: 6,656
Rank Last Year: 10 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.2x (20th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.2x (23rd most expensive)
More on Litchfield Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Litchfield Park comes in at $94,844 and the median home value is $393,900 for 2023.
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Grand Canyon State For 2023
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 2017-2021 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 53 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 2023
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:
- Globe
- Safford
- Douglas
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 | 4.33 |
| 2 | Flagstaff | 4.33 |
| 3 | Tempe | 9.67 |
| 4 | Chino Valley | 11.33 |
| 5 | Paradise Valley | 11.67 |
| 6 | Cottonwood | 12.33 |
| 7 | Prescott Valley | 15.0 |
| 8 | Tolleson | 15.33 |
| 9 | Scottsdale | 15.67 |
| 10 | Litchfield Park | 16.33 |
| 11 | Surprise | 17.33 |
| 12 | Youn | 17.33 |
| 13 | Payson | 17.33 |
| 14 | Lake Havasu City | 18.67 |
| 15 | Fountain Hills | 19.0 |
| 16 | Phoenix | 19.33 |
| 17 | Prescott | 19.33 |
| 18 | Glendale | 19.67 |
| 19 | Peoria | 20.67 |
| 20 | Mesa | 20.67 |
| 21 | Avondale | 22.67 |
| 22 | Chandler | 23.33 |
| 23 | Goodyear | 24.0 |
| 24 | El Mirage | 24.67 |
| 25 | Camp Verde | 24.67 |
| 26 | Queen Creek | 25.33 |
| 27 | Tucson | 26.0 |
| 28 | Bullhead City | 27.33 |
| 29 | Maricopa | 27.67 |
| 30 | Show Low | 27.67 |
| 31 | Nogales | 27.67 |
| 32 | Wickenburg | 28.0 |
| 33 | Oro Valley | 29.0 |
| 34 | Gilbert | 29.0 |
| 35 | Kingman | 33.67 |
| 36 | Casa Grande | 34.0 |
| 37 | Marana | 35.33 |
| 38 | Guadalupe | 35.33 |
| 39 | Yuma | 38.33 |
| 40 | San Luis | 38.67 |
| 41 | Snowflake | 39.33 |
| 42 | Somerton | 39.67 |
| 43 | Florence | 40.0 |
| 44 | Apache Junction | 40.67 |
| 45 | Sahuarita | 41.33 |
| 46 | Winslow | 42.0 |
| 47 | Sierra Vista | 43.67 |
| 48 | Coolidge | 44.33 |
| 49 | Eloy | 45.0 |
| 50 | Thatcher | 46.33 |
| 51 | Douglas | 46.33 |
| 52 | Safford | 46.67 |
| 53 | Globe | 48.0 |
