South Tucson, Arizona Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B+

Overall 15%

Goods & Services 4%

Housing 54%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from C2ER in January, 2021; 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	85	99	100
Goods & Services	104	99	100
Groceries	104	99	100
Health care	102	97	100
Housing	46	97	100
Transportation	97	104	100
Utilities	101	103	100

Key findings

The cost of living in South Tucson is 14% lower than the Arizona average
The cost of living in South Tucson is 15% 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	$19.81	$18.62	6.4%
Beauty Salon	$51.51	$39.05	31.9%
Toothpaste	$2.18	$2.34	6.7%
Shampoo	$1.03	$1.06	2.2%
Movie	$10.51	$10.68	1.7%
Bowling	$9.25	$14.67	37.0%

Groceries

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.86	$4.22	15.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.65	$1.39	19.3%
Milk	$1.59	$2.05	22.6%
Potatoes	$2.39	$3.29	27.2%
Pizza	$12.99	$10.62	22.3%
Beer	$9.69	$9.38	3.3%

Health Care

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$96.00	$108.57	11.6%
Doctor	$138.05	$116.17	18.8%
Dentist	$91.20	$99.13	8.0%
Ibuprofen	$9.79	$9.68	1.2%
Lipitor	$478.64	$466.92	2.5%

Housing

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$74,100.00	$184,700.00	59.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,208.01	$1,197.42	0.9%
Apartment Rent	$565.00	$949.00	40.5%

Transportation

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.14	$2.22	3.9%
Tire Balancing	$48.58	$50.07	3.0%

Utilities

Item	South Tucson	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$169.46	$167.67	1.1%
Phone	$185.54	$175.64	5.6%

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, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Summit, AZ	5,240	85	-15%
Flowing Wells, AZ	15,601	86	-14%
Littletown, AZ	645	89	-11%
Tucson Estates, AZ	11,747	92	-8%
Drexel Heights, AZ	27,281	93	-7%
South Tucson, AZ	5,627	85	-15%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Richwood, LA	5,626	74	-26%
Medina, MN	5,633	154	54%
Violet, LA	5,621	91	-9%
Hidden Valley Lake, CA	5,618	122	22%
Swartz Creek, MI	5,617	92	-8%
South Tucson, AZ	5,627	85	-15%

Source: The South Tucson, AZ cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2020.