Moving to Arizona from Virginia
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Virginia to Arizona — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Virginia to Arizona, you would find that Arizona is 7.2% cheaper than Virginia. A $75,000 salary in Virginia would need to be roughly $69,600 in Arizona to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Phoenix averages 87°F vs 70°F in Richmond, making it significantly warmer. Virginia Beach and Phoenix are about 2,050 mi apart.
Is Arizona cheaper than Virginia?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 1.3% less
Groceries
pay 14.8% less
Transportation
pay 2.2% less
Housing
pay 0.5% more
Childcare
pay 40.9% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.5% 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 → $69,600
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 13% less than cities in Virginia.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Virginia to Arizona.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Virginia 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
Arizona generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arizona generally does better on what about housing?, though Virginia leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arizona performs significantly better than Virginia across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Virginia performs better than Arizona across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Virginia 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 Virginia
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Richmond | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) | 73°/49°F (23°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) | 95°/69°F (35°/20°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) | 103°/80°F (40°/27°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) | 77°/54°F (25°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Richmond | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) | 69°/46°F (20.3°/7.6°C) |
| Feb | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) |
| Mar | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) | 78°/53°F (25.7°/11.9°C) |
| Apr | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) | 86°/60°F (29.9°/15.7°C) |
| May | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) | 95°/69°F (34.8°/20.6°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) | 104°/77°F (39.9°/25.1°C) |
| Jul | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) | 106°/83°F (41.0°/28.1°C) |
| Aug | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) | 104°/82°F (40.1°/27.8°C) |
| Sep | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) | 100°/75°F (37.8°/24.1°C) |
| Oct | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) | 89°/64°F (31.8°/18.0°C) |
| Nov | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) | 76°/52°F (24.7°/11.1°C) |
| Dec | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) | 67°/45°F (19.6°/7.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Arizona than Virginia?
Yes — Arizona is on average about 7% cheaper than Virginia. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Arizona?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $17,400 in Arizona on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Arizona safe?
Virginia performs better than Arizona across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Arizona compared to Virginia?
Arizona generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Arizona compared to Virginia?
The average high temperature in Phoenix is 87°F, compared to 70°F in Richmond. Phoenix receives around 8.2 in of rainfall per year, while Richmond gets 43.6 in.
