Moving from Florida to Arizona
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Florida and Arizona, side by side.
Moving to Arizona costs about
About the same
Florida and Arizona work out within $50/mo of each other
Worth knowing
State income tax is what separates these two states
Of everything that changes when you move from Florida to Arizona, state income tax moves the most: about $149 a month more, which is most of the whole difference.
Florida vs Arizona at a glance
| Florida | Arizona | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $359,000 | $394,500 |
| Median rent | $1,669/mo | $1,543/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Flat 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.76% | 0.48% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 98 | 95 |
| Utilities | 90 | 92 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | FL | AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,669 | $1,543 | -$126 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $0 | $149 | +$149 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $90 | $84 | -$6 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,798 | $1,748 | -$49 |
| Utilities | $368 | $377 | +$9 |
| Total | -$20 | ||
What the move itself costs
$3,600 to $7,800
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $1,000 to $1,450, against roughly $800 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 5-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Miami is not Florida-average and Phoenix is not Arizona-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.