Overall
- Flagstaff
- 100.3
Diff -0.6 RPP
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater vs Flagstaff
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Flagstaff is 0.6% less expensive than Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
0.6% less expensive
Flagstaff, AZ is 0.6% less expensive than Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.3 vs 100.9). A $100,000 salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater buys about the same as $99,440 in Flagstaff; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.9 (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater) vs 100.3 (Flagstaff)
- $100k in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ≈ $99,440 purchasing power in Flagstaff
- Rents drives the gap (-16.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:AZ 100.9→100.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × AZ
- 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.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
100.9
Cost Index
Flagstaff
100.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL and Flagstaff, AZ 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: Flagstaff is 16.9 points lower. 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater corresponds to $99,440 in Flagstaff.
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 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.9 | 100.3 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 95.5 | 96.2 | +0.8 |
| Services | 88.5 | 93.8 | +5.3 |
| Rents | 125.8 | 109.0 | -16.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 100.9
Flagstaff 100.3
Goods
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 95.5
Flagstaff 96.2
Services
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 88.5
Flagstaff 93.8
Rents
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 125.8
Flagstaff 109.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater would need to be in Flagstaff for the same purchasing power:
| In Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | In Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,720 | $-280 |
| $75,000 | $74,580 | $-420 |
| $100,000 | $99,440 | $-560 |
| $150,000 | $149,160 | $-840 |
$ in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater = in Flagstaff
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.9 → 100.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flagstaff more expensive than Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
Flagstaff is 0.6% less expensive than Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. The overall cost index is 100.3 vs 100.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Flagstaff equals $100K in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
A $100,000 salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater has the same purchasing power as $99,440 in Flagstaff. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater and Flagstaff?
Rents in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater are indexed at 125.8 while Flagstaff is at 109.0 (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.