Route comparison
Phoenix, AZ vs San Diego, CA: Cost of Living
Compare Phoenix, AZ and San Diego, CA using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
Phoenix, AZ
AZ
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 103.316
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 121.236
- 2024 goods RPP
- 95.024
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,734/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
San Diego, CA
CA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 111.887
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 179.267
- 2024 goods RPP
- 107.963
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,823/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, San Diego, CA has a higher overall price level than Phoenix, AZ by about 8.3% (RPP 103.316 to 111.887).
$60,000 in Phoenix, AZ
-> $64,978
in San Diego, CA
$100,000 in Phoenix, AZ
-> $108,296
in San Diego, CA
$150,000 in Phoenix, AZ
-> $162,444
in San Diego, CA
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: Phoenix, AZ vs San Diego, CA
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023Phoenix, AZ
- Net people
- +21,218
- Net rank
- #4 of 65
- Top origin share
- 5%
- Top destination share
- 5%
Largest source: Pima County, AZ. Largest destination: Pima County, AZ.
San Diego, CA
- Net people
- −15,307
- Net rank
- #57 of 65
- Top origin share
- 10%
- Top destination share
- 11%
Largest source: Los Angeles County, CA. Largest destination: Riverside County, CA.
Rent delta: San Diego, CA is $1,089/mo higher for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than Phoenix, AZ. Housing RPP moves from 121.236 to 179.267.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is San Diego, CA cheaper or more expensive than Phoenix, AZ?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, San Diego, CA (RPP 111.887) has an overall price level about 8.3% higher than Phoenix, AZ (RPP 103.316). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in San Diego, CA if I earn $100,000 in Phoenix, AZ?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $108,296 in San Diego, CA, using $100,000 x (111.887 / 103.316). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, Phoenix, AZ or San Diego, CA?
- For 2022-2023, Phoenix, AZ had a net gain of 21,218 people, while San Diego, CA had a net loss of 15,307 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.