Moving to Arizona from New Jersey
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from New Jersey to Arizona — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from New Jersey to Arizona, you would find that Arizona is 16.7% cheaper than New Jersey. A $75,000 salary in New Jersey would need to be roughly $62,500 in Arizona to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Phoenix averages 87°F vs 67°F in Newark, making it significantly warmer. Newark and Phoenix are about 2,150 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Arizona? Get a shortlist of towns in Arizona that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Arizona cheaper than New Jersey?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 3.8% more
Groceries
pay 19.2% less
Transportation
pay 15.3% less
Housing
pay 19.8% less
Childcare
pay 35.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.1% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Arizona?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $62,500
To maintain the same standard of living in Arizona
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Arizona cost about 18% less than cities in New Jersey.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How New Jersey and Arizona stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Jersey performs better than Arizona across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
New Jersey performs better than Arizona across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arizona performs significantly better than New Jersey across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
New Jersey generally does better on infrastructure, though Arizona leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
New Jersey generally does better on employment & economy, though Arizona leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
New Jersey performs better than Arizona across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Arizona vs New Jersey
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Newark | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/27°F (9°/-2°C) | 73°/49°F (23°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 76°/51°F (24°/11°C) | 95°/69°F (35°/20°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/63°F (29°/17°C) | 103°/80°F (40°/27°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/36°F (14°/2°C) | 77°/54°F (25°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Newark | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/24°F (5.6°/-4.4°C) | 69°/46°F (20.3°/7.6°C) |
| Feb | 46°/26°F (7.7°/-3.2°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) |
| Mar | 55°/32°F (12.7°/0.2°C) | 78°/53°F (25.7°/11.9°C) |
| Apr | 67°/42°F (19.4°/5.3°C) | 86°/60°F (29.9°/15.7°C) |
| May | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.7°C) | 95°/69°F (34.8°/20.6°C) |
| Jun | 85°/61°F (29.5°/16.3°C) | 104°/77°F (39.9°/25.1°C) |
| Jul | 88°/66°F (31.2°/18.8°C) | 106°/83°F (41.0°/28.1°C) |
| Aug | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.1°C) | 104°/82°F (40.1°/27.8°C) |
| Sep | 80°/57°F (26.5°/14.0°C) | 100°/75°F (37.8°/24.1°C) |
| Oct | 69°/45°F (20.4°/7.3°C) | 89°/64°F (31.8°/18.0°C) |
| Nov | 58°/36°F (14.2°/2.4°C) | 76°/52°F (24.7°/11.1°C) |
| Dec | 46°/28°F (7.8°/-2.2°C) | 67°/45°F (19.6°/7.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Arizona than New Jersey?
Generally yes: Arizona runs about 17% cheaper than New Jersey on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Arizona?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $15,625 in Arizona for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Arizona safe?
New Jersey performs better than Arizona across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Arizona compared to New Jersey?
New Jersey performs better than Arizona across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Arizona compared to New Jersey?
The average high temperature in Phoenix is 87°F, compared to 67°F in Newark. Phoenix receives around 8.2 in of rainfall per year, while Newark gets 46.2 in.
