7 Places To Live in Arizona With High Salaries and a Low Cost of Living

Arizona is the land of sunny skies, warm temperatures and wide-open spaces, which is why it ranks as one of the fastest-growing states in the country. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it ranked No. 7 in population growth between 2022 and 2023, having added 65,660 residents during that period.

A separate 2023 analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau found that Arizona ranked third in the United States for job growth and fifth for economic growth. The state’s population is about 7.4 million, and roughly 42% of adults are college-educated. The median household income is $69,056, slightly lower than the national average.

Education and health services, construction, and leisure and hospitality jobs are expected to grow the most in Arizona, which reflects the influx of new residents – especially retirees. Professional and business services, financial activities and manufacturing jobs are also expected to increase.

Living in Arizona has its challenges, however. Although most Sunbelt states have a low cost of living compared with other parts of the country, Arizona is not one of them. A 2023 report from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center ranked Arizona 36th in the nation for affordability based on housing, grocery, utility, transportation, healthcare and other costs. That means only 14 states and the District of Columbia were more expensive in 2023.

Similarly, housing can be expensive in Arizona, depending on where you live. Housing in the state is 20% higher than the national average, according to a report earlier this year from RentCafe. Those costs can go even higher in some parts of the state. In Scottsdale, for example, Zillow estimates that average home values are more than double the national average.

As in most states, high salaries and low living costs don’t always go hand-in-hand in Arizona. Places with the lowest costs of living – such as San Luis, Douglas, Nogales and Flowing Wells – have low median salaries. And certain cities with high salaries, like Scottsdale and Chandler, are costly to live in.

Still, some Arizona cities offer average salaries well above the national average and living costs that are either lower than average or not so high that they offset the income you can earn.

Average salaries are from ZipRecruiter, median national salaries are from the Census Bureau, and cost-of-living figures are from PayScale. Here are seven places to live in this state with high salaries and comparatively low costs of living.

• Average annual salary: $94,167
• Annual salary: 26% higher than the 2022 national median of $74,580
• Cost of living: 10% higher than the national average

• Average annual salary: $92,702
• Annual salary: 24% higher than the national median
• Cost of living: 4% higher than the national average

• Average annual salary: $92,430
• Annual salary: 24% higher than the national median
• Cost of living: 16% lower than the national average

• Average annual salary: $91,908
• Annual salary: 23% higher than the national median
• Cost of living: 13% lower than the national average

• Average annual salary: $90,461
• Annual salary: 21% higher than the national median
• Cost of living: 2% higher than the national average

• Average annual salary: $88,881
• Annual salary: 19% higher than the national median
• Cost of living: 5% higher than the national average

• Average annual salary: $88,355
• Annual salary: 18% higher than the national median
• Cost of living: 6% higher than the national average