Wednesday, November 30, 2022 / by Juan Grimaldo
As inflation continues to soar, here's how Arizona cities rank for affordability
Cities in the Grand Canyon State are less affordable than they were just a few years ago, but when compared to the nation at large, Arizona still remains a relative bargain. In fact, Tucson turns out to be the 24th most affordable locale in the U.S. and the Phoenix metro is among the top 100.
That's according to a Business Journals analysis of the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis' Regional Price Parity Index. The index shows how costs compare in a metro compared to the national baseline of 100. That means a metro with an index of 90 would be 10% more affordable than the national average, for example. That index includes the cost of housing, services and goods as well, providing a more complete picture of affordability.
The data is from 2020, so it doesn't include much of the significant inflation that has transpired during the Covid-19 recovery, but it does show which metros are most well-positioned to capitalize on their relative affordability and which metros could be hurt by a flight to affordability.
In the Phoenix metro ranked No. 77 in affordability, with a regional price parity index score of 102.558, a little above the national baseline. Tucson, by comparison, had a score of 93.882.
Broken down into categories, the Valley was nearly in line with the national average for the price of goods, with a price parity index of 100.83 and ranking No. 75 in that column. The Phoenix area's highest ranking, however, was No. 67 for the cost of housing, even though that's the category where it had the highest index score, 107.515.
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By Andy Medici - Senior Reporter, The Playbook.