10 Cheapest Cities To Live in Arizona

A lot of factors have been drawing more and more people to move to Arizona, including a cheaper cost of living, a warm climate, a solid economy and more. While the state has a history of being more affordable, some Arizona cities are uniquely cheap and great places to consider living.

To find the 10 cheapest cities to live in Arizona, GOBankingRates gathered a list of all the cities in the state and sourced population and median household income from the U.S. Census American Consumer Survey. The top 100 cities were narrowed down by key expenditures, including groceries, healthcare, utilities, housing, transportation and miscellaneous costs, and they were ranked according to overall annual expenditures.

• Total population: 35,289
• Median household income: $43,630
• Annual expenditures: $31,626

Healthcare is painfully expensive in San Luis at 36.3% higher than the rest of the nation, or  $7,431 per year. However, housing is quite affordable here, at 37.6% lower than the national average, or $8,273 per year.

• Total population: 32,204
• Median household income: $52,768
• Annual expenditures: $31,423

It’s healthcare that’s taking the biggest bite of income in Kingman, where it is 31.1% above the national average, around $7,148 per year. In contrast, residents only pay a few thousand dollars more for their housing, which is $10,063 per year.

• Total population: 20,729
• Median household income: $54,262
• Annual expenditures: $30,952

In Green Valley, all expenditures fall below the national average except for utilities, which are just 2.3% above, running you $4,320 annually.

• Total population: 44,944
• Median household income: $66,129
• Annual expenditures: $30,859

Healthcare is almost 6.2% higher than the national average here in Sierra Vista, at $5,790 per year. However, housing is reasonable, with an average annual expenditure of $10,461.

• Total population: 30,599
• Median household income: $64,502
• Annual expenditures: $30,413

In Drexel Heights, energy is where most of your money will go. Utilities and transportation are both above the national average, running $4,341 and $5,966 annually, respectively.

• Total population: 15,171
• Median household income: $49,526
• Annual expenditures: $29,328

For a small city, Eloy is quite affordable overall, but you’ll be paying more for healthcare and utilities here — the average annual costs are $5,474 and $4,531 respectively.

• Total population: 20,914
• Median household income: $54,554
• Annual expenditures: $28,005

In Rio Rico, while most expenditures are under the national average, utilities are significantly higher at $4,464 per year, which is more than half the cost of annual housing costs, which run around $8,167.

• Total population: 19,829
• Median household income: $31,997
• Annual expenditures: $25,568

Nogales is another city where housing comes quite affordably, 48.2% below the national average, at $6,921 per year. Transportation is also extra affordable here, at nearly 30% lower than national average.

• Total population: 16,470
• Median household income: $39,479
• Annual expenditures: $25,486

In the small city of Douglas, healthcare and utilities will take the biggest chunk out of your income, at $5,790 and $4,489 per year, respectively.

• Total population: 16,965
• Median household income: $34,054
• Annual expenditures: $24,791

Flowing Wells takes the No. 1 spot because all expenditures are below the national average, except for utilities, which are 2.1% above, averaging $4,312 per year. Housing is the cheapest on this list, at 66.6% below the national average, or just $4,428 per year.

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Methodology: To find the Cheapest Cities to Live in Arizona, GOBankingRates gathered a list of all the cities in Arizona with their population and median household income sourced from the U.S. Census American Consumer Survey. The top 50 cities by population were kept for the study and for each city the; [1] Grocery cost of living, [2] Healthcare cost of living, [3] Utilities cost of living, [4] Housing cost of living, [5] Transportation cost of living and [6] Miscellaneous cost of living were sourced from Sperling’s Best Places. Each cost-of-living index was multiplied by its respective average annual expenditure category sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey to find an average cost for each expenditure category within each city. The expenditures were summed up and sorted to show the cheapest places to live in Arizona. All data was collected and is up to date as of July 19, 2023.

Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only. As a result, some of the photos might not reflect the locations listed in this article.