AnswerIn Phoenix, the median household income is $77,041. To rank in the top 20%, you need to earn more than $150,385. Top 5%: $377,000.
Median: $77,041 · Top 20%: $150,385 · Top 5%: $377,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates
Phoenix income percentile [2026]
Where Phoenix, Arizonahouseholds rank by income — sourced from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates, covering roughly 1,624,832 residents.
In Phoenix, AZ, the median household income is $77,041. The bottom 20% earns under $34,989; the top 20% threshold is $150,385; the top 5% starts at $377,000. Median rent is $1,458/month and the median home value is $381,900. A $100,000 household income ranks at roughly the 62th percentile locally.
Key stats for Phoenix
Income percentile breakpoints
- 20th percentile (bottom quintile)
- $34,989
- 40th percentile
- $61,347
- Median (≈ 50th–60th percentile)
- $94,999
- 80th percentile (top 20%)
- $150,385
- 95th percentile (top 5%) — estimated
- $377,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. City-level p60 is used as the “median-ish” row because ACS quintile upper limits bracket the household median near p60 for most big US cities. The Census Bureau top-codes its top-5% figure at $250,001 for high-income cities, so the 95th-percentile value here is estimated by fitting a Pareto tail to Phoenix's lower (un-top-coded) quintile breakpoints. Treat it as a modeled upper-tail benchmark, not a published ACS figure.
Local economic context
Phoenix has quietly become one of the more interesting income stories of the 2020s. Semiconductor manufacturing is now the headline — Intel's Ocotillo campus in Chandler and TSMC's multi-billion-dollar fab in north Phoenix have dragged engineer wages up and pulled in a tier of specialized labor that didn't exist here a decade ago. Banner Health dominates the healthcare sector with roughly 50,000 employees statewide. American Airlines runs a massive reservations and operations center, Honeywell Aerospace is headquartered in Phoenix, and Freeport-McMoRan anchors the mining and commodities slice. Financial services grew aggressively as California firms relocated operations (Charles Schwab's footprint is a tell). The housing story is nuanced: Phoenix saw one of the sharpest 2020-2022 price runups in the country, with Zillow medians jumping over 40%, then a 2023-2024 soft correction as 7% mortgages collided with the summer heat-adjusted demand. A 3BR in Arcadia or central Phoenix still runs $700K-$1.1M; Gilbert and Chandler are the top-of-market suburbs where tech workers cluster. Commute reality is the Loop 101 and Loop 202, plus I-10 and the I-17, all of which slow to a crawl during rush hour despite Phoenix's generous road width. The Valley Metro light rail serves a narrow central corridor and doesn't help most commuters. Cost-of-living caveat: BEA RPP for Phoenix metro is roughly 101-102% of national, noticeably less affordable than five years ago. Arizona's 2.5% flat state income tax (since 2023) is the meaningful tax advantage.
What this income feels like
Top 20% in Phoenix feels genuinely comfortable — a 4BR in Gilbert or north Scottsdale, a pool that's actually usable eight months of the year, and the ability to absorb a $400 July electricity bill without flinching. You Costco-run on weekends and accept that May through September, anything outside between 10 AM and 7 PM is a heat-stroke risk. Groceries at Fry's feel reasonable. Childcare runs $1,300-$1,700/month, far below coastal benchmarks. The catch: if you bought a house in 2021, you're watching your equity move sideways, and the Phoenix job market outside of chips and healthcare is thinner than it looks.
Top 20% reality check
- You can own a 4BR with a pool in Gilbert or Chandler on a single top-20% income, a setup that's functionally impossible in coastal California at the same comp.
- Your summer electric bill routinely crosses $400/month and your water bill climbs in July — Phoenix's climate extracts a real utility-cost tax that mild-climate cities skip.
- You're one of the thousands of California transplants who locked in a 3% mortgage in 2021; a cross-town move now means swapping into a 7% rate and you probably won't.
Cost-of-living reality
The median gross rent in Phoenix is $1,458/month, or roughly 22.7% of the median household income on an annualized basis. The national rent-burden average is about 30%, and anything north of that is treated as rent-burdened by HUD. Phoenix's median home value is $381,900, a price-to-income ratio of 5.0× — healthy markets run 3–4×, expensive coastal markets routinely exceed 6×. Mean one-way commute is 25.7 minutes, which compounds the real cost of living here for anyone not working remote.
Nearby cities
Phoenix community discussions
Local subreddits where cost-of-living and income questions get answered by residents. External links, open in a new tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good income in Phoenix?
In Phoenix, AZ, the median household income is $77,041. Earning above $94,999 puts you in the top 40%, and clearing $150,385 places you in the top 20%. A "good" income depends on household size and housing choice, but $150,385 is a useful upper-middle-class threshold for this city.
How does Phoenix's median income compare to the US?
Phoenix's median household income of $77,041 is about 1.9% lower than the US median of $78,538 (ACS 2023 5-year, matched to the city vintage). Raw comparisons understate local cost-of-living; Phoenix's median rent of $1,458 and median home value of $381,900 are the relevant offsets.
What percentile is $100K in Phoenix?
A household income of $100,000 ranks at roughly the 62th percentile in Phoenix. That is interpolated from the local ACS quintile breakpoints: p20 $34,989, p40 $61,347, p60 $94,999, p80 $150,385, p95 $377,000.
Is Phoenix expensive to live in?
Median gross rent in Phoenix is $1,458/month, which is 22.7% of the median household income on an annualized basis — compared to the national rent-burden average of about 30%. The median home value is $381,900, a price-to-income ratio of 5.0× (healthy markets run 3-4×, expensive markets 6×+).
How is this calculated?
Figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-year estimates for Phoenix, Arizona. Income percentiles are city-level approximations derived from ACS B19080 household income quintile upper limits, interpolated from the local median and distribution. Rent burden uses B25071 (median gross rent as % of household income) and mean commute uses B08303.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use published benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between published cells. Figures are in current-year USD unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.