Moving into a one-bedroom apartment in Phoenix now takes an estimated $4,775 upfront, more than the $4,500 a median renter household brings home in an entire month. The gap, identified in a new cost analysis, captures just how squeezed local renters remain even as rents across the Valley have been falling.
The figures come from Freedom Debt Relief, which crunched numbers for 30 major U.S. cities using median monthly rents for one-bedroom units from Zumper alongside renter-household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, according to Phoenix New Times. The firm also factored in security deposits and rental fees based on local and state laws, plus a flat $1,050 per city to cover utility setups, moving supplies and other incidental costs tied to relocating.
Why the Math Doesn’t Add Up for Local Renters
Rent itself makes up just 28% of that $4,775 total, the outlet reports, with the security deposit and other moving and setup expenses accounting for the rest. Put another way, Phoenicians typically need to save roughly 3.5 times the estimated median monthly rent for a one-bedroom just to get through the door of a new place — the first month’s rent plus about 2.5 additional months’ worth of costs, per the same analysis.
Under Arizona law, there’s at least a ceiling on part of that burden. A landlord cannot demand or receive security, however it’s labeled and including prepaid rent, worth more than one and one-half month’s rent, according to Arizona Legislature, A.R.S. § 33-1321. The statute does allow a tenant to voluntarily pay more than that amount in advance if they choose.
Phoenix Still Beats Much of the Country — Just Not on Income
Oddly enough, Phoenix actually fares well compared to other major metros when it comes to raw dollar costs. The city ranked second-lowest in upfront moving costs among all 30 cities Freedom Debt Relief analyzed. But the article notes that upfront costs here still equal 106% of the median local renter’s monthly income — worse, proportionally, than pricier markets. In Seattle, for instance, the upfront cost of moving runs $1,650 higher than in Phoenix but amounts to only 84% of that city’s median renter income. The article attributes the imbalance to the fact that Phoenix renter-household incomes are lower than those in other Western cities on the list…