Cost Of Living in Fort Defiance, AZ

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22%

Overall NAT. AVG.

4%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

71%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2025 and was released from C2ER in January, 2026; this is the most current data available.

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	Fort Defiance	Arizona	National
Cost of living	78	101	100
Goods & Services	104	105	100
Groceries	98	102	100
Health care	108	93	100
Housing	29	96	100
Transportation	94	102	100
Utilities	85	104	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Fort Defiance is 23% lower than the Arizona average
The cost of living in Fort Defiance is 22% lower than the national average
Fort Defiance housing is 71% lower than the national average
Arizona general sales tax is 10% higher than the national average
Arizona state income tax is 4% lower than the national average

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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	$46,779	$3,898	$1,091	$1,404
Renters	$70,472	$5,873	$1,644	$2,114

The affordability of the housing market in Fort Defiance, AZ as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Fort Defiance homeowners, the median income is $46,779. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,091 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $70,472. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $1,644 for their rent related monthly costs.

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	2.5%	2.5%

Goods & Services

Item	Fort Defiance	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$36.08	$27.62	30.6%
Beauty Salon	$51.64	$51.11	1.0%
Toothpaste	$4.00	$4.09	2.3%
Shampoo	$1.36	$1.54	11.8%
Movie	$12.15	$12.88	5.7%
Yoga	$19.42	$19.66	1.2%

Groceries

Item	Fort Defiance	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$8.29	$7.70	7.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.46	$1.66	12.2%
Milk	$4.65	$4.73	1.8%
Potatoes	$4.96	$5.26	5.6%
Pizza	$13.64	$12.76	6.9%
Beer	$10.58	$10.55	0.3%

Health Care

Item	Fort Defiance	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$173.61	$140.06	24.0%
Doctor	$145.18	$153.82	5.6%
Dentist	$107.62	$123.15	12.6%
Ibuprofen	$11.73	$11.73	0.0%
Lipitor	$35.21	$23.61	49.1%

Housing

Item	Fort Defiance	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$60,216.00	$326,622.00	81.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,169.16	$2,480.25	12.5%
Apartment Rent	$752.00	$1,444.00	47.9%

Transportation

Item	Fort Defiance	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.00	$3.06	1.8%
Tire Balancing	$55.00	$65.21	15.7%

Utilities

Item	Fort Defiance	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$167.22	$220.12	24.0%
Phone	$193.43	$195.71	1.2%

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.
Rock Springs, NM	1,201	99	1.2%
Tse Bonito, NM	212	99	1.2%
Nakaibito, NM	222	78	22.5%
Sawmill, AZ	728	83	17.1%
Navajo, NM	1,860	80	20.4%
Fort Defiance, AZ	4,304	78	22.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Broadmoor, CA	4,304	219	119.0%
Sebring, OH	4,304	83	16.7%
Liberty, NY	4,303	92	8.3%
Belleair, FL	4,305	141	41.3%
Northwest Harbor, NY	4,302	197	97.3%
Fort Defiance, AZ	4,304	78	22.3%