St. Cloud → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from St. Cloud to Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 87.6 to 103.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $633/mo.
- +$872
- BLS median salary higher in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 259 to 429
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 17:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $421
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
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.
Cons of Moving
- - 16% higher cost of living
- - $633/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 87.6 to 103.3, so the same paycheck buys less in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler (ratio 1.18). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $633/mo ($7,596/yr) from $1,206 in St. Cloud to $1,839 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler.
St. Cloud still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler sits #357 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). St. Cloud is #40/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $872 higher ($72,671 → $73,543). Labor-market size: 96,960 tracked jobs at origin vs 2,342,930 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Minnesota 49 (F, #43/51) vs Arizona 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
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 22
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 St. Cloud to see what you'd need to earn in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler to maintain the same purchasing power.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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