What salary do you need to live in Tucson, AZ?

Tucson housing costs at a glance

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Tucson, AZ metro at $1,011 for a one-bedroom, $1,275 for a two-bedroom and $1,647 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $264 a month, and the third bedroom another $372.

Buying is the other half of the housing picture: owners put the median home in Tucson, AZ at $319,700. With median household income at $70,315, a typical home costs 4.5× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 96.9, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 3.1% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $103,203 would at average US prices.

Income needed for each grade in Tucson

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $41,000 for Tight, $83,000 for Okay and $166,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $83,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

The Royal grade is within reach at $486,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Tucson.

Tucson at four common salaries

Home size shifts the grade at $75,000: Okay for one bedroom, Tight for two and Tight for three, as the rent share climbs from 16% to 26%.

Comfortable is above every row of the table here. At $150,000 a two-bedroom still grades Okay, with rent taking 10% of income.

Where Tucson falls nationally

Ranked against all 387 metros, Tucson sits 131st on overall price level and 127th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 132nd.

Yuba City, CA ($1,279) and Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA ($1,275) bracket Tucson on two-bedroom rent.

Tucson next to Arizona and similar metros

Statewide, Arizona's median two-bedroom rent is $1,541 and its median home value $394,500. Tucson's rent is −17% against that, and its home value −19%; the price parity is 96.9 versus 100.7 for the state.

Run Arizona's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $221,000; Tucson's line is −25% from that.

The nearest matches in Arizona, judged on rent and price parity together, are Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ, Flagstaff, AZ, and Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ.

The median Tucson household

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $70,315, which grades Tight (41) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. The Comfortable line is 136% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the Arizona median household ($79,964) grades Tight on the state's own medians. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.