Flagstaff, Arizona Cost Of Living

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F

Overall 18%

Goods & Services 11%

Housing 41%

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Flagstaff	Arizona	National
Cost of living	118	101	100
Goods & Services	111	105	100
Groceries	113	104	100
Health care	109	98	100
Housing	141	97	100
Transportation	107	97	100
Utilities	94	103	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Flagstaff is 17% higher than the Arizona average
The cost of living in Flagstaff is 18% higher than the national average
Flagstaff housing is 41% higher than the national average
Arizona general sales tax is 10% higher than the national average
Arizona state income tax is 5% higher than the national average

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Salary Calculator

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$81,507	$6,792	$1,902	$2,445
Renters	$33,838	$2,820	$790	$1,015

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Flagstaff, AZ, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Flagstaff, homeowners have a median income of $81,507. Using that number, a maximum of $1,902 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $33,838, which means there is a maximum of $790 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Arizona Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Arizona	5.6%	10.725%

Arizona Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Arizona	2.59%	4.5%

Goods & Services

Item	Flagstaff	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.00	$20.27	1.3%
Beauty Salon	$48.50	$40.39	20.1%
Toothpaste	$2.17	$2.36	7.9%
Shampoo	$1.02	$1.08	5.5%
Movie	$10.78	$10.99	1.9%
Bowling	$19.17	$15.49	23.7%

Groceries

Item	Flagstaff	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.30	$4.30	0.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.56	$1.40	11.5%
Milk	$1.71	$2.20	22.2%
Potatoes	$3.87	$3.22	20.3%
Pizza	$12.22	$10.74	13.8%
Beer	$10.23	$9.60	6.6%

Health Care

Item	Flagstaff	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$131.17	$109.73	19.5%
Doctor	$126.98	$118.34	7.3%
Dentist	$111.83	$100.94	10.8%
Ibuprofen	$9.81	$9.93	1.3%
Lipitor	$499.24	$469.53	6.3%

Housing

Item	Flagstaff	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$280,200.00	$184,700.00	51.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,575.72	$1,229.62	28.1%
Apartment Rent	$1,090.00	$949.00	14.9%

Transportation

Item	Flagstaff	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.08	$2.71	13.5%
Tire Balancing	$49.97	$51.86	3.6%

Utilities

Item	Flagstaff	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$154.79	$170.84	9.4%
Phone	$182.89	$187.18	2.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Kachina Village, AZ	2,588	113	13.0%
Mountainaire, AZ	1,150	116	15.6%
Doney Park, AZ	5,775	124	24.3%
Fort Valley, AZ	1,157	148	48.0%
Flagstaff, AZ	69,270	118	17.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Palatine, IL	69,098	117	16.8%
The Villages, FL	69,457	113	13.4%
Glen Burnie, MD	69,060	111	11.0%
Rancho Cordova, CA	69,482	113	12.9%
Grande Prairie, AB	69,512	n/a
Flagstaff, AZ	69,270	118	17.8%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.