Overall
- Flagstaff
- 100.3
Diff +0.6 RPP
Flagstaff vs Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 0.6% more expensive than Flagstaff.
0.6% more expensive
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL is 0.6% more expensive than Flagstaff, AZ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.9 vs 100.3). A $100,000 salary in Flagstaff buys about the same as $100,563 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.3 (Flagstaff) vs 100.9 (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater)
- $100k in Flagstaff ≈ $100,563 purchasing power in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
- Rents drives the gap (+16.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AZ:FL 100.3→100.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AZ × FL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Flagstaff
100.3
Cost Index
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
100.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Flagstaff, AZ and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 16.9 points higher. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Flagstaff corresponds to $100,563 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Flagstaff
- 96.2
Diff -0.8 RPP
Services
- Flagstaff
- 93.8
Diff -5.3 RPP
Rents
- Flagstaff
- 109.0
Diff +16.9 RPP
| Category | Flagstaff | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.3 | 100.9 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 95.5 | -0.8 |
| Services | 93.8 | 88.5 | -5.3 |
| Rents | 109.0 | 125.8 | +16.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Flagstaff 100.3
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 100.9
Goods
Flagstaff 96.2
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 95.5
Services
Flagstaff 93.8
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 88.5
Rents
Flagstaff 109.0
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 125.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Flagstaff would need to be in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater for the same purchasing power:
| In Flagstaff | In Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,282 | +$282 |
| $75,000 | $75,422 | +$422 |
| $100,000 | $100,563 | +$563 |
| $150,000 | $150,845 | +$845 |
$ in Flagstaff = in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.3 → 100.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater more expensive than Flagstaff?
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 0.6% more expensive than Flagstaff. The overall cost index is 100.9 vs 100.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater equals $100K in Flagstaff?
A $100,000 salary in Flagstaff has the same purchasing power as $100,563 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Flagstaff and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
Rents in Flagstaff are indexed at 109.0 while Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is at 125.8 (national average = 100). Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.