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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 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Arizona? That would be Sedona.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 57 places in Arizona with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Arizona for 2021:
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 Holbrook (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 2021
/10
Population: 10,322
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.3x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.3x (6th most expensive)
More on Sedona: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Sedona comes in at $61,470 and the median home value is $507,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 72,402
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.0x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.4x (5th most expensive)
More on Flagstaff: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Flagstaff comes in at $58,748 and the median home value is $351,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 6,073
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 14)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.8x (2most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.5x (3rd most expensive)
More on Litchfield Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Litchfield Park comes in at $83,156 and the median home value is $318,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 187,454
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.8x (11th most expensive)
More on Tempe: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Tempe comes in at $57,994 and the median home value is $272,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 11,959
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.5x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.6x (4th most expensive)
More on Cottonwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cottonwood comes in at $42,500 and the median home value is $189,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 15,545
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.6x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.1x (19th most expensive)
More on Payson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Payson comes in at $51,280 and the median home value is $236,300 for 2021.
/10
Population: 5,670
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.8x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 62.8x (44th most expensive)
More on Cave Creek: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cave Creek comes in at $83,787 and the median home value is $482,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 42,785
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.2x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 62.4x (43rd most expensive)
More on Prescott: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Prescott comes in at $55,734 and the median home value is $347,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 44,311
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (15th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 52.3x (17th most expensive)
More on Prescott Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Prescott Valley comes in at $51,909 and the median home value is $228,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,633,017
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 5)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.1x (16th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.6x (22nd most expensive)
More on Phoenix: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Phoenix comes in at $57,459 and the median home value is $235,400 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Grand Canyon State For 2021
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 2015-2019 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 57 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.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Arizona For 2021
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:
- Holbrook
- Coolidge
- Guadalupe
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 | Litchfield Park | 11.33 |
| 4 | Tempe | 11.67 |
| 5 | Cottonwood | 16.0 |
| 6 | Payson | 17.0 |
| 7 | Cave Creek | 17.33 |
| 8 | Prescott | 18.0 |
| 9 | Prescott Valley | 18.0 |
| 10 | Phoenix | 19.33 |
| 11 | Scottsdale | 19.67 |
| 12 | Youn | 20.33 |
| 13 | Paradise Valley | 20.33 |
| 14 | Surprise | 21.0 |
| 15 | Lake Havasu City | 21.33 |
| 16 | Camp Verde | 21.33 |
| 17 | Chino Valley | 21.33 |
| 18 | Glendale | 22.33 |
| 19 | Fountain Hills | 22.67 |
| 20 | Tolleson | 23.0 |
| 21 | Show Low | 23.0 |
| 22 | Mesa | 23.0 |
| 23 | Avondale | 23.33 |
| 24 | Bisbee | 24.33 |
| 25 | Nogales | 24.67 |
| 26 | Tucson | 26.33 |
| 27 | Peoria | 27.33 |
| 28 | Chandler | 27.67 |
| 29 | Goodyear | 28.67 |
| 30 | Oro Valley | 29.0 |
| 31 | Gilbert | 29.67 |
| 32 | Wickenburg | 29.67 |
| 33 | El Mirage | 30.33 |
| 34 | South Tucson | 31.0 |
| 35 | Somerton | 31.33 |
| 36 | Queen Creek | 31.67 |
| 37 | Bullhead City | 32.0 |
| 38 | Maricopa | 32.33 |
| 39 | Yuma | 35.33 |
| 40 | Kingman | 36.0 |
| 41 | Sahuarita | 37.0 |
| 42 | Casa Grande | 37.0 |
| 43 | San Luis | 37.67 |
| 44 | Marana | 38.33 |
| 45 | Snowflake | 38.33 |
| 46 | Florence | 40.0 |
| 47 | Sierra Vista | 41.0 |
| 48 | Thatcher | 43.67 |
| 49 | Eloy | 43.83 |
| 50 | Globe | 44.0 |
| 51 | Douglas | 44.67 |
| 52 | Apache Junction | 45.33 |
| 53 | Safford | 45.67 |
| 54 | Winslow | 47.33 |
| 55 | Guadalupe | 47.5 |
| 56 | Coolidge | 47.67 |
| 57 | Holbrook | 53.33 |
