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 benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between tabulated cells. Figures are in the dollars of each dataset's reference year unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.