$100k salary, packing up from Houston
changea dispatch from
tucson
AZ
32.25°N
110.91°W
Tucson is the first U.S. city named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, and the Sonoran hot dogs alone justify the trip. The saguaros stand around like skinny green sentries, the mountains ring the city in every direction, and the sunsets do that thing where the whole sky turns watermelon. The University of Arizona keeps the energy young. The monsoons in July are genuinely thrilling, and the dry desert nights keep the patios full long after dark.
in our guides
the verdict
more each month than Houston ran you
Almost a wash on cost. The case for Tucson is about what you'd do there, not what you'd save.
a quick ledger.
$1,444/mo
10% cheaper than Houston(vs $1,610/mo)
2.5%
$208/mo more in state tax than Houston
vs 0% in Houston
$6,681/mo
$42 less than Houston
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$352k
13% more expensive than Houston
vs $311k in Houston
1.1M
vs 7.5M in Houston
field notes, weather & such.
202
pleasant days a year, in tucson.
Houston barely cracks 171 pleasant ones. Heat is the cost: 94 days top 95° vs Houston's 54.
But the calendar thins out: Houston stays 6.4× busier.
66/100
20% higher than Houston
vs 55/100 in Houston
Closest outdoor draw: Saguaro National Park, 16.6 mi.
67/100
13% lower than Houston
vs 77/100 in Houston
16
91% fewer than Houston
vs 176 nonstops in Houston
neighbors of tucson on the map of tradeoffs:
compare tucson with:
