Overall
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 103.3
Diff -0.2 RPP
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler vs Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is 0.2% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler.
0.2% less expensive
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX is 0.2% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.1 vs 103.3). A $100,000 salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler buys about the same as $99,781 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 103.3 (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler) vs 103.1 (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington)
- $100k in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler ≈ $99,781 purchasing power in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
- Goods drives the gap (+7.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AZ:TX 103.3→103.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AZ × TX
- 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.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
103.3
Cost Index
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
103.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is 7.8 points higher. But 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,781 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +7.8 RPP
Services
Diff -2.6 RPP
Rents
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 121.2
Diff -3.4 RPP
| Category | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.3 | 103.1 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 95.0 | 102.8 | +7.8 |
| Services | 93.3 | 90.7 | -2.6 |
| Rents | 121.2 | 117.9 | -3.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 103.3
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 103.1
Goods
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 95.0
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 102.8
Services
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 93.3
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 90.7
Rents
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 121.2
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 117.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.3 to 0.2 RPP points. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 13.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.0 to 7.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler RPP | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.7 | 101.4 | 4.3 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
| 2012 | 98.7 | 100.8 | 2.1 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2016 | 100.4 | 98.0 | 2.4 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
| 2020 | 102.8 | 104.5 | 1.7 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2024 | 103.3 | 103.1 | 0.2 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler would need to be in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington for the same purchasing power:
| In Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,891 | $-109 |
| $75,000 | $74,836 | $-164 |
| $100,000 | $99,781 | $-219 |
| $150,000 | $149,672 | $-328 |
$ in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler = in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.3 → 103.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington more expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler?
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is 0.2% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler. The overall cost index is 103.1 vs 103.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington equals $100K in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler?
A $100,000 salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler has the same purchasing power as $99,781 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
Rents in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler are indexed at 121.2 while Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is at 117.9 (national average = 100). Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.