Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler → Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.3 to 100.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $138/mo.
- -$5,139
- BLS median salary lower in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
- 429 to 210
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17:1 to 17.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $796
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $138/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $5K lower median salary
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 103.3 to 100.9 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $138/mo ($1,656/yr) from $1,839 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler to $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater sits #338 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is #357/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,139 lower ($73,543 → $68,404). Labor-market size: 2,342,930 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,402,180 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Florida scores 62 (C, #23/51) vs Arizona at 53 (D, #37/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 22
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 67
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 12
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler to see what you'd need to earn in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to maintain the same purchasing power.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026