Cost of Living in Tucson, AZ

Population & Growth of Tucson, AZ

Tucson is home to roughly 554,013 people as of 2024, making it the second most populous city in Arizona, with the population growing at a rate of 0.7% per year. That growth is part of why housing costs have climbed the way they have.

Tucson buyers typically get more home for their money than they would in larger Western metros like Phoenix, Denver, or Southern California. That said, if you need more room, renting a storage unit in Tucson is an affordable way to free up space at home, with a 5x10 unit costing about $58 per month on average. If you're planning a move in Tucson, Extra Space Storage has facilities across neighborhoods like South Park, Broadway Pantano East, Eastern Hills, and more to help with your transition. Find a storage unit in Tucson today!

Cost of Living in Tucson, AZ by Household Size

A single adult in Tucson needs about $37,370 per year after taxes to cover essentials. A family of four should budget closer to $95,779 annually for the same categories at household scale—roughly 156.3% more than a single person needs, driven mainly by higher grocery budgets and healthcare costs.

What Salary Do You Need to Live in Tucson, AZ

Based on U.S. median household income adjusted for local cost of living in 2026, you'd need to earn around $81,604 per year to match the standard of living a typical American household has nationally—roughly parallel to the U.S. average. For essentials only, MIT's Living Wage Calculator puts the floor at $37,370 after taxes for a single adult covering housing, groceries, transportation, and healthcare.

• Is $60,000 a good salary in Tucson? For a single person, yes—$60,000 sits roughly 60.56% above what's typically needed, leaving real room for savings.

• Is $100,000 enough to live in Tucson? For a single adult, $100,000 does comfortably cover typical #City# costs, particularly with housing running 6.4% lower than the national average.

For context, the minimum wage in Tucson is $15.45 per hour, 1.9% higher than the #state# minimum of $15.15. Both are above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. The median household income in Tucson is $60,483 annually, providing additional context for how local earnings compare to the cost-of-living benchmark above.

Taxes in Tucson, AZ

Arizona has a flat income tax rate of 2.5%, which helps the affordability picture. A $100,000 salary in Tucson may stretch further than the same salary in many California cities, especially with Tucson's overall cost of living being fairly close to the national average. It's worth noting Tucson leans on relatively higher sales taxes instead, providing a genuine advantage for most mid to high earners. The combined sales tax rate in Tucson is 8.7%, and there is no additional local income tax.

How Does Tucson, AZ Compare to the Rest of Arizona?

As of 2026, Tucson’s cost of living is 6.6% lower than the Arizona state average—a bigger gap than the 0% difference from the national average, showing the savings Tucson offers relative to other parts of the state.

Cost of Living in Tucson, AZ Changes Over Time

The cost of living in Tucson has risen 24.4% over the past five years, keeping close pace with the national average. Housing has been a major factor, with median rent rising about 17.9% during that period and home values increasing 11.8%. Even so, Tucson's housing costs have grown more slowly than national housing costs, thanks in part to new construction and a growing supply of homes and apartments—which have helped keep the market balanced and prices relatively affordable. Beyond housing, residents have felt the same nationwide increases in groceries, energy, and other everyday expenses as the rest of the country.

Compare Tucson Cost of Living to Other Nearby Cities

How does Tucson compare to other cities nearby? Phoenix's cost of living is 4.4% higher than Tucson’s, with the biggest gaps in housing and transportation. See the full city-by-city comparisons below.

• Cost of Living in Sierra Vista, AZ—7.6% lower than Tucson

• Cost of Living in Gilbert, AZ—12.8% higher than Tucson

• Cost of Living in Phoenix, AZ—4.4% higher than Tucson

• Cost of Living in Scottsdale, AZ—15.1% higher than Tucson

• Cost of Living Index—C2ER: Our cost of living calculator is powered by data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), a trusted nonprofit organization that collects and compares prices across hundreds of U.S. cities. The C2ER Cost of Living Index measures everyday expenses like housing, groceries, transportation, utilities, healthcare, and other common goods and services, so you can see how costs stack up in different places. Each city's score is benchmarked against a national average of 100, which makes comparisons easy. For example, a score of 110 would indicate costs about 10% higher than the national average. We update our calculator twice a year to reflect the latest C2ER data. While these numbers represent citywide averages, it's important to keep in mind that your actual expenses may vary depending on your lifestyle and the neighborhood you choose. The category comparisons and dynamic figures throughout this page pull directly and automatically from this C2ER dataset via our CMS integration, so they stay current without manual updates each refresh cycle.

• Salary Benchmarks—Census/ACS and MIT Living Wage Calculator This page uses two distinct salary benchmarks, kept separate because they answer different questions. The "salary needed to live" figure is a cost-of-living-adjusted equivalence: U.S. median household income (Census/ACS) multiplied by the city's overall C2ER index, divided by 100—representing what a typical American household would need to earn locally to match the purchasing power they'd have nationally. The essentials-only figure referenced alongside it, and reused in the household-size breakdown, comes from MIT's Living Wage Calculator, using the after-tax, single-adult, no-children estimate as the baseline. The family-of-four figure in the household-size section uses MIT's "2 adults, both working, 2 children" scenario for consistency across cities. These figures are checked and refreshed manually as part of each city page's content update.

• Taxes—State and Local Tax Authority Sites: State income tax status, combined sales tax rate, and local income tax rate (where applicable) are researched and verified manually against each state's Department of Revenue or equivalent tax authority site as part of each city page's update.

• Cost of Living Over Time—Historical C2ER Data: Year-over-year cost-of-living trend figures are calculated in-house by comparing the city's current C2ER Cost of Living Index score against its own past C2ER reports, checked and calculated manually as part of each city page's content update.

• Population and Income Context—Census/ACS: Population figures, growth rates, and median household income come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, checked manually at each refresh.

• Neighborhood-Level Pricing—AreaVibes: Where a page identifies a specific cheaper neighborhood or suburb, median rent and home price comparisons are sourced from AreaVibes listing data, checked manually at each refresh. 

• Update Cadence: C2ER data refreshes automatically twice a year via our CMS integration. All other figures on this page—salary benchmarks, tax rates, CPI trends, Census data, and neighborhood pricing—are manually reviewed and updated as part of each city page's content refresh cycle.