South Tucson, Arizona Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B+

Overall 14%

Goods & Services 4%

Housing 54%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; 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	South Tucson	Arizona	National
Cost of living	86	101	100
Goods & Services	104	105	100
Groceries	101	104	100
Health care	104	98	100
Housing	46	97	100
Transportation	104	97	100
Utilities	104	103	100

Key findings

The cost of living in South Tucson is 15% lower than the Arizona average
The cost of living in South Tucson is 14% lower than the national average
South Tucson housing is 54% lower 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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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	$33,750	$2,813	$787	$1,013
Renters	$17,744	$1,479	$414	$532

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in South Tucson, AZ, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In South Tucson, the median monthly income is $33,750 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $787 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $17,744, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $414 on monthly rental expenses.

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	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.84	$20.27	2.8%
Beauty Salon	$47.35	$40.39	17.2%
Toothpaste	$2.09	$2.36	11.4%
Shampoo	$1.02	$1.08	5.2%
Movie	$11.16	$10.99	1.6%
Bowling	$9.56	$15.49	38.3%

Groceries

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.92	$4.30	8.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.48	$1.40	5.5%
Milk	$1.70	$2.20	22.7%
Potatoes	$2.48	$3.22	23.0%
Pizza	$11.90	$10.74	10.8%
Beer	$9.92	$9.60	3.3%

Health Care

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$104.16	$109.73	5.1%
Doctor	$140.19	$118.34	18.5%
Dentist	$102.09	$100.94	1.1%
Ibuprofen	$9.82	$9.93	1.1%
Lipitor	$477.34	$469.53	1.7%

Housing

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$74,100.00	$184,700.00	59.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,374.83	$1,229.62	11.8%
Apartment Rent	$565.00	$949.00	40.5%

Transportation

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.63	$2.71	2.8%
Tire Balancing	$59.60	$51.86	14.9%

Utilities

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$185.85	$170.84	8.8%
Phone	$181.82	$187.18	2.9%

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.
Summit, AZ	5,240	86	14.1%
Flowing Wells, AZ	15,601	87	13.0%
Littletown, AZ	645	90	10.4%
Tucson Estates, AZ	11,747	93	6.8%
Drexel Heights, AZ	27,281	94	6.4%
South Tucson, AZ	5,627	86	13.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Richwood, LA	5,626	75	25.1%
Lac-Brome, QC	5,626	n/a
Violet, LA	5,621	92	8.2%
Medina, MN	5,633	153	53.4%
Sioux Lookout, ON	5,634	n/a
South Tucson, AZ	5,627	86	13.8%

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