2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Fairfax, VA vs Tempe, AZ

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Tempe or is it cheaper to live in Fairfax?
- Tempe is 20.6% less expensive than Fairfax.

Which city has more affordable housing, Tempe or Fairfax?
- Tempe housing costs are 38.3% less expensive than Fairfax housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Fairfax or is Health Care more affordable in Tempe.
- Health related expenses are 9.9% less in Tempe.
 Fairfax, VATempe, AZUnited States
 Overall  Unlock113.0100
 Food & Groceries114.1  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock92.5100
 Housing223.8  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$426,900$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock108.1100
 Miscellaneous145.6  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Fairfax    28 Reviews

I lived in the area for 17 years through high school until I eventually became a truck driver. Having now seen most states extensively, I wanted to fairly review what  More

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Living in Fairfax, or any of the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC, means dealing with highways that are a Gordian knot of converging lanes and overpasses, making long  More

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Over 10 years ago

The Cost of living here is high. Though the standard of living is also high, unless you're making over 50,000/year, it's difficult to both live and build any sort of  More

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Reviews for Tempe    22 Reviews

Tempe is a very unique case of a College Town that has quickly become a Small College City or a Small City. It used to be where there was small pockets of walkability  More

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Tempe is a small city that definitely has nice areas, nice weather, the people are always good, and it is home of ASU. The Tempe town council has done a good job towards  More

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Over 11 years ago

Lived in Arizona 55 yrs Phoenix /Tempe lost my job and got a offer to keep my job but had to move Fall River MA. I will take the heat over days of cold anytime . January  More

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