Where Do I Move?

West · Arizona · pop 250.2K

Glendale, AZ

Fit score

Fair match

at the reference profile: one person earning $6,700/mo gross, default weights.

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After estimated taxes in AZ, your $6,700/mo income nets about $5,290 — covering estimated essentials here (about $1,208 rent plus everyday costs incl. local sales tax) with roughly $1,275 left over.

There's plenty to do — roughly 433 restaurants, arts, and recreation spots per 10k residents.

Expect summer highs near 106°F, winter lows around 46°F, and about 317 sunny days a year.

Tradeoff: the local job market is softer than most on this list (5.1% unemployment).

AFFORDABILITY88HOUSING58JOBS14SAFETY57CLIMATE72AMENITIES79

The Glendale fit print

Est. monthly cost

$4,015/mo

Typical rent

$1,397/mo

Home value ÷ income

4.9×

What's in the monthly estimate

Rentmeasured

Zillow asking rent, scaled to a 1-bedroom via Census bedroom spread

$1,208
Utilitiesmeasured

Asking rents exclude them; gross-rent figures already include them

$253
Everyday essentialsmeasured

BLS survey basket × BEA regional price parity — split below by national spending shares

$2,534
  • Food (groceries & dining out)$861
  • Transportation (car, gas, insurance)$763
    • Car payment & upkeep$379
    • Gas$233
    • Car insurance$138
    • Tolls & parking$13
  • Healthcare (premiums & out-of-pocket)$369
  • Household goods & services$246
  • Apparel & personal care$172
  • Everything else$123
Insurance adjustmentestimated

Auto and renters premiums run above the national average here

$20
Estimated monthly cost
$4,015± $273 · $3,742$4,288

The range is widest on everyday essentials — saving your own figures for it in your profile narrows this.

1 of 4 lines use a national or state figure rather than one measured here · data acs2023-5yr. For a household of 1. Excludes income tax (applied to your earnings separately) and debt payments; healthcare is the national average inside the basket, not localized. See the methodology for sources.

Score breakdown

Affordability
88
Housing
58
Jobs
14
Safety
57
Climate
72
Amenities
79

The data behind the score

Money (Census ACS · HUD)

Median gross rent
$1,397/mo
Median home value
$347,000
Median household income
$70,139
Population
250,193

Work (BLS)

Unemployment rate
5.1%
Job growth (1yr)
-3.9%

Safety (FBI CDE, per 100k)

Violent crime rate
456
Property crime rate
2,445

Climate (NOAA normals)

Avg. summer high
106°F
Summer afternoons feel like
106°F
Summer dew point
55°F (comfortable)
Avg. winter low
46°F
Sunny days / year
317
Days ≥100°F by 2050 (air temp)
≈142/yr
Dangerous humid days by 2050 (feels-like)
≈35/yr
Unhealthy air days
≈85/yr
Annual rain
8"
Annual snow
0"

Community & access (approx.)

2024 county margin
R+4
Bachelor's degree or higher
≈24%
Major airport
≈15 mi
Time zone
MT
Walkability
65/100
Transit
32/100
Disaster risk
47/100
Top natural hazard
Heat wave
Local pay is tight here. A typical Glendale household earns about $70k, roughly 8% below the $76k it takes to cover local costs here. Local pay stretches, but it's tight.
A citywide number is an average. Rent, safety, and everything else vary block by block — treat these figures as a starting point and research specific neighborhoods before committing.

Data vintage: acs2023-5yr. Sources & methodology

Natural-hazard risk

Wildfire

high risk

Hurricanes

low risk

Tornadoes

moderate risk

Flooding

moderate risk

Earthquakes

high risk

Severe winter

low risk

Drought / water stress

high risk

Per-hazard risk-index scores from FEMA's National Risk Index for this city's county, with any hazard FEMA doesn't score filled in by our model. Screen by hazard from search.

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Go deeper

Buy vs. rent the median home

Owning the median Glendale home would run about $2,301/mo (mortgage, tax, insurance, upkeep) versus $1,397/mo to rent — about $904/mo more to buy at today's 6.58% rate.

To own$2,301/mo
Mortgage (P&I)
$1,769
Property tax
$137
Insurance
$149
Maintenance
$245
To rent$1,397/mo

Buying costs about $904/mo more.

Median home $347,000 · $69,400 down

Estimate only: 30-year fixed, measured local property tax where available, state-average homeowners insurance, ~1%/yr maintenance. Insurance and upkeep are charged on the estimated cost to REBUILD the house, not on its market price — land needs neither a roof nor a policy, so pricing them off the sticker overcharges expensive-land markets and undercharges cheap ones. That rebuild cost is estimated from local price levels, not measured per home, so it won't match a specific property's square footage or condition. The figures here are pre-tax outlay: the mortgage-interest and property-tax deduction is applied to your take-home pay in the search instead, so it is counted once rather than subtracted from the payment below. Part of the mortgage payment builds equity, which a pure outlay comparison ignores; and the median home is typically larger than the median rental, which biases the gap toward renting. Ignores closing costs, HOA dues, and the opportunity cost of the down payment. PMI is included below 20% down as a mid-band estimate — the real rate also moves with credit score, and it drops off at 78% LTV rather than lasting the whole loan. In California the rate shown is Prop 13's 1% statutory base for a new purchase, so it runs slightly low where local bonds apply. Not a lending quote.

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Cite this page

Every figure here is computed from public federal data. If you quote one, link the page it came from — the assumptions behind it are stated there, and the numbers change as the underlying data updates.

Where Do I Move?. "Glendale, AZ — cost of living, rent & Fit Score." Data vintage acs2023-5yr. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://wheredoimove.com/city/glendale-az

What will the move cost?

Moving to Glendale

About 2,143 mi from New York, NY.

DIY — rental truck

$2,650$3,850

One-way truck, mileage, and fuel. Your labor.

Full-service movers

$6,850$9,850

Pros load, drive, and unload. Packing usually extra.

Rough estimates from distance and household size — real quotes vary with season, access, exact inventory, and fuel. Get a few binding quotes before you book.

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