Maricopa named among most affordable AZ cities

Maricopa is the seventh-ranked city in Arizona for higher salaries and a lower cost of living.

Affordability is a big deal in Arizona, which is in the top 30% of most expensive states to live in.

Hawaii-based financial think tank GOBankingRates, using U.S. Census data, reports Maricopa has an average annual salary of $88,355, 18% higher than the national median, and a cost of living 6% higher than the national average.

No. 1 on the state list is Peoria with an average annual salary of $94,167. The city northwest of Phoenix and wedged between Glendale and Sun City reports an annual salary of 26% higher than the 2022 national median of $74,580. Peoria’s cost of living is 10% higher than the national average, the report states.

Arizona overall does not have a low cost of living compared to other states. The study ranks the state 36th in the nation for affordability based on housing, grocery, utility, transportation, healthcare and other costs.

“That means only 14 states and the District of Columbia were more expensive in 2023,” the study states.

Education and health services, construction and leisure, and hospitality jobs are expected to growth the most in Arizona, reflecting the influx of new residents, most of whom are retirees.

Other cities ranked in order are Tucson, Cameron, Aguila, Glendale and Avondale.

Cameron is a Navajo Nation community of less than 1,000 residents in Coconino County. Aguila is an unincorporated tiny community between Wickenburg and Interstate 10.

The report says No. 2-ranked Tucson has an average annual salary of $92,702 and an annual salary that’s 24% higher than the national median. Tucson’s cost of living was 4% higher than the national average.

Glendale reported an average annual salary of $90,461 and Avondale, $88,881.

Glendale’s annual salary is 21% higher than the national average and its cost of living is 2% higher than the national average. Avondale has an annual salary 19% higher than the national median and 5% higher than the national average.

Overall, Arizona ranked seventh in population growth between 2022 and 2023, adding 65,660 residents during that period, the census states. The state also ranked third in the U.S. for job growth and fifth for economic growth, the census numbers show.

“The state’s population is about 7.4 million and roughly 42% of adults are college educated,” GOBankingRates reports. “The median household income is $69,056, slightly lower than the national average.”

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