Log in

Rankings

Surprise: High pay, low cost to live

Study has city ranked 6th in West U.S.

Posted 2/18/21

Surprise is ranking high in a new study that measures salaries compared to cost of living.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
Rankings

Surprise: High pay, low cost to live

Study has city ranked 6th in West U.S.

Posted

Surprise is ranking high in a new study that measures salaries compared to cost of living.

Financial website The Ascent ranked Surprise sixth on its list of the “10 Best Places to Live in the West for High Salaries and Low Cost of Living.”

The study analyzed both cost of living and median income data to find the 10 most affordable cities in the West.

Surprise finished behind only Ogden, Utah; Provo, Utah; Salt Lake City; Denver; and Oakland, California.

The study found the cost of living estimate in Surprise to be $59,758. That’s good news for a place with an average household income of $67,896.

That gives the city an estimated income-to-expense ratio of 1.136 and a cost-of-living index of 94.8.

The Ascent pointed out in its report that although the median income in Surprise is 1.2% below the national median, the city maintains its affordability because it owns a cost-of-living index that’s 5.2% lower than the national average.

The study reported the city has a higher number of people working as health technologists and technicians, in law enforcement, and in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations than is expected.

The study used figures from the Council for Community and Economic Research as well as U.S. Census Bureau data from its American Community Survey. 

Rounding out the top 10 on the list were Olympia, Washington; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Bozeman, Montana and Boise, Idaho.

Click here to see the original report.