Moving from Vancouver to Phoenix
Mild winters, desert hikes and a booming job market. Here's how life in Phoenix compares with Vancouver, and what changes when you cross the border.
Phoenix is roughly 9°C warmer than Vancouver in January (about 4°C → 13°C), with little or no snow instead of about 30 cm a year and around 134 more sunny days. A typical home costs roughly 51% less in Phoenix (about C$1,250,000 vs US$450,000, compared at a sample exchange rate), and everyday costs in Phoenix are close to the US average. Income tax goes from a medium provincial income tax in British Columbia to a low state income tax in Arizona. For lifestyle, you gain warm winters, desert and golf and leave behind beach, hiking and skiing. (Approximate figures.)
- January average
- 4°C → 13°C (+9°)
- July average
- 18°C → 35°C (+17°)
- Sunny days a year
- 165 → 299
- Snow a year
- 30 → 0 cm
- Cost of living index
- 135 → 105
- Typical home
- C$1,250,000 → US$450,000
- Property tax rate
- 0.28% → 0.55%
- Provincial or state income tax
- Medium → Low
- Health care in Phoenix
- Private, ~US$520/mo (approx.)
- Airport
- 20 min
- Ski hill
- 2h 30m
- Beach or lake
- 45 min
- Main industries
- Healthcare, semiconductors, finance
Moving from Canada to the USA
- Staying vs. moving
- Mortgages
- Taxes
- Health care
Climate, cost and risk figures are approximate and for comparison only. Prices are in each place's local currency.