How Much Does It Cost to Live in Tucson? A 2026 Rent and Budget Guide

Updated September 2026. Rent figures reflect Apartment List data as of August 2026.

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Tucson is $1,050 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $876 and two-bedrooms at $1,124. That runs about 24.5% below the national median of $1,390.

Rent here barely moved while nearby markets dropped. Tucson slipped 0.71% over the past year against 3.52% in Phoenix and 4.18% in Las Vegas. A one-bedroom with power at 500 kWh and groceries comes to around $1,396 a month, before water, gas, a car, and anything else.

Tucson Cost of Living at a Glance

Rent anchors this guide, and the advertised price covers one part of the monthly bill. The figures below set a starting range for Tucson.

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Tucson in 2026?

The median one-bedroom rent in Tucson is $876 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,124 and the all-sizes median is $1,050.

Rents are close to flat, down 0.71% year over year, with the most recent month up 0.37%. The national median fell 0.76% over the same period. Tucson has held steadier than its nearest comparisons: Phoenix fell 3.52% over the same twelve months, Mesa 3.22%, and Las Vegas 4.18%. Over the longer span since the pandemic, Tucson is up 31.55%.

The monthly and annual figures cover different periods, and the twelve-month change is the steadier of the two. What these figures do not tell you is what any specific building is offering right now, so ask each one directly about concessions, fees, and the move-in total.

How the City Median Compares With the Metro Median

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the Tucson metro median is $1,147 across all apartment sizes as of August 2026, against the city's $1,050. The city runs below the metro at all three sizes shown, and the gap narrows as unit size rises.

All figures are Apartment List August 2026 estimates.

This is a comparison between a city and the larger area containing it, and nothing more. It does not tell you that suburbs price higher, that moving outward saves money, or which direction from the center is cheaper.

How Does Tucson Rent Compare With Other Southwest Cities?

The table sets Tucson against selected Southwest cities and the national median. It is not a ranking of every Southwest rental market.

All figures are Apartment List medians as of August 2026.

Tucson is the lowest figure in this set, and the gaps are wide enough to be stable. Even El Paso, the closest comparison, sits $124 above it. Within Arizona the contrast is sharper still: the state median is $1,295, and Phoenix runs $204 above Tucson.

What Income Corresponds to Tucson Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $876, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $35,040 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30, calculated from the unrounded medians. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median between two renters. Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates for Tucson.

The 30% figure is the share of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable. HUD's version includes utilities. Plan on more than $35,040, because that figure counts rent only. In Tucson the difference cuts both ways: summer electricity is a genuine expense, and transit costs you nothing.

This calculation uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income and will produce a different estimate.

Treat $35,040 as a planning benchmark, not a salary requirement or a screening rule.

How Do You Set a Rent Ceiling for a Specific Listing?

Start from what you earn:

1. Take your gross annual income.
2. Multiply by 0.30 to get the annual rent your budget supports at the 30% benchmark.
3. Divide by 12 for a monthly rent ceiling.

On a $40,000 salary that is about $1,000 a month, which sits above Tucson's $876 median one-bedroom. On $50,000 it is about $1,250. On $33,000 it is about $825, which lands just below the median one-bedroom.

The arithmetic also runs the other way if you are looking at a specific listing. Multiply the monthly rent by 12 and divide by 0.30 to see the income it implies: a $1,000 listing points to about $40,000, and an $800 listing to about $32,000.

Run the number before you tour, not after. Then check it against the Apartment List Rent Calculator, which works from your actual income and debts instead of a flat percentage. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Tucson?

Electricity

Tucson Electric Power serves the city. On its Basic residential plan you pay a $15.00 monthly service charge plus a price per kWh that rises in tiers as you use more. At 500 kWh that comes to about $80 a month on the summer rate, worked out from TEP's published rates and before surcharges and taxes.

500 kWh is exactly where TEP's cheapest tier stops. Up to that point the summer price is 13.04 cents per kWh; past it, 15.01 cents. So $80 is the best case at this level of use, and anything above 500 kWh is priced higher than the first 500 was.

TEP puts median residential use at 638 kWh a month, and 823 kWh in summer, both well above the basket used here. At 823 kWh the Basic plan works out to about $129. Air conditioning is what drives that, because the rate itself barely moves by season, about $2 at 500 kWh between the summer and winter schedules.

TEP also has a rate case pending. Its July 2026 proposal would add $5.00 to the monthly service charge and raise a median-usage residential bill by about 11.6%. Nothing on this page reflects it yet.

Ask the building for a recent summer bill on a comparable unit. That figure accounts for the insulation and the air conditioner you would actually be living with.

Natural Gas

This page does not model gas. Ask whether a specific unit has gas appliances or gas heat, and if it does, ask who is billed for them.

Water and Sewer

Two separate bodies handle this. Tucson Water, a City of Tucson department, supplies drinking water. Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation handles sewer.

In most apartments water and sewer come bundled into rent or split across the building rather than billed to you directly, which is why no figure appears here. Ask which applies at a specific address, and if they are billed to you, ask for recent amounts for both.

Transit

Transit in Tucson is free. Sun Tran buses, the Sun Link streetcar, Sun Express, Sun Van paratransit, Sun On Demand and Sun Shuttle have all operated without fares since March 2020.

There is no pass to price and no break-even to work out. If your commute works on Sun Tran or Sun Link, you pay nothing to get to work.

The policy is reviewed rather than permanent. Mayor and Council have extended the fare moratorium six times, most recently in August 2025, and in 2026 the city manager recommended keeping it as the most feasible option until at least 2028. Check where it stands before you plan a car-free move around it.

Groceries

The USDA Moderate-Cost Food Plan puts groceries for a single adult at about $440 a month, based on the July 2026 monthly cost of food report. That's a national benchmark rather than a Tucson number, so treat it as a starting point and adjust it for how much you cook against how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Tucson Budgets Compare?

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. The shared column splits rent and electricity between two renters on the same 500 kWh summer basket; groceries are per person. Transit is $0 because every city service is fare-free. Both totals exclude water, sewer, gas, internet, renter's insurance, parking, and a car.

The $314 difference in the rent line is what sharing moves most. Electricity splits too, though at this usage level it is a smaller number. Sharing lowers the income the 30% benchmark points to by roughly $12,560 a year.

Tucson's Two-Bedroom Median Runs $248 Above Its One-Bedroom

In Tucson a two-bedroom runs $248 more than a one-bedroom at the median, or about 28.3% above the one-bedroom figure (Apartment List, August 2026).

That is a wider step than typical. Across the 50 largest U.S. cities the median difference is about 19.5%, or $222, and Tucson sits above both figures. The difference between the two unit sizes is wider here than in most large cities, in proportion and in dollars.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

• What a recent July or August electricity bill came to on a comparable unit

• Whether the unit has gas appliances or gas heat, and who is billed for them

• Whether water and sewer are billed to you, allocated across the building, or included

• How well the unit is insulated, and whether the air conditioning has been serviced recently

• Whether parking is included, and what it costs if not

• Total move-in cost: first month, security deposit, and any administrative, pet, or amenity fees

Ask the property for its total move-in amount in writing before paying anything. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee, so every fee you are checking for belongs to the property.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Tucson?

Start with the neighborhood guide: Best Neighborhoods in Tucson.

Then run your actual numbers. The Apartment List Rent Calculator sets a ceiling from your income and debts, and Rate My Rent grades a specific listing against comparable nearby apartments on rent, square footage, and amenities. That grade is a starting point for questions to ask the building, not a verdict on the unit.

Because transit is fare-free, a longer commute on Sun Tran or Sun Link costs you time and no fare. If you drive it instead, distance still costs gas.

Compare Tucson With Your Current City

If you are moving in from somewhere else, the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares your current city against Tucson. It asks for monthly household income after taxes, which is a different input than the gross-income benchmark used above.

Public transit in Tucson costs nothing, and has since 2020. The fare line in a Tucson budget is $0, which leaves a car as the only transport cost left to plan.

Browse Tucson apartments and start comparing real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Rent figures come from the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology, which uses a same-unit, repeat-transaction analysis.

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

The electricity estimate assumes 500 kWh a month on Tucson Electric Power's Basic residential plan at the summer rate, including the basic service charge and before surcharges and taxes. Your own usage will move it, most likely upward in summer, and TEP's own median-usage figures sit above the basket used here.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tucson Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Tucson?

The median all-sizes rent in Tucson is $1,050 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index, with one-bedrooms at $876 and two-bedrooms at $1,124. Apartment List reports a median rather than an average because a median better represents a typical apartment and is less distorted by a handful of luxury units.

Is Tucson Expensive?

No. Tucson's $1,050 all-sizes median runs 24.5% below the national median of $1,390 as of August 2026 (Apartment List). It is also the lowest figure among the Southwest cities compared on this page, sitting $204 below Phoenix and $124 below El Paso.

Is Rent Going Up or Down in Tucson?

Close to flat. Tucson rents fell 0.71% year over year as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index, while the national median fell 0.76%. That is noticeably steadier than nearby markets: Phoenix fell 3.52% and Las Vegas 4.18% over the same period. These are citywide figures and do not establish what any individual building is asking or offering.

Is Rent Cheaper Inside Tucson City Limits Than in the Metro?

At the median, yes. The city median is $1,050 against $1,147 for the wider Tucson metro as of August 2026 (Apartment List), about 8.5% lower. The gap narrows to about 5% at one-bedrooms. That is a comparison between a city and the larger area containing it. It does not tell you which specific suburbs or neighborhoods price higher or lower.

How Much More Does a Two-Bedroom Cost Than a One-Bedroom in Tucson?

About $248 a month, or roughly 28% above the one-bedroom figure. The median one-bedroom is $876 and the median two-bedroom is $1,124 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. That is a wider step than typical, since across the 50 largest U.S. cities the median difference is about 19.5%, or $222. It is also the cost of renting the larger apartment rather than the cost per person: two renters splitting that two-bedroom equally would pay about $562 each.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Tucson?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $876, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $35,040 in annual gross income. This is a planning benchmark, not a requirement. Plan on more than $35,040, because that figure counts rent only and Tucson summers put real money into electricity.

Is Public Transit Really Free in Tucson?

Yes. Sun Tran buses, the Sun Link streetcar, Sun Express, Sun Van, Sun On Demand and Sun Shuttle have all run fare-free since March 2020. Mayor and Council have extended the moratorium six times, most recently in August 2025. It is a reviewed policy rather than a permanent one, so confirm the current status before planning a car-free move around it.

How Much Is Electricity in a Tucson Apartment?

At 500 kWh a month, Tucson Electric Power's Basic residential plan works out to about $80 on the summer rate: a $15.00 basic service charge plus 13.04 cents per kWh. That is an approximate figure from TEP's published rates, before surcharges and taxes. One thing to know: 500 kWh is exactly where TEP's cheapest tier stops, and the price climbs to 15.01 cents past it. TEP puts median residential use at 823 kWh in summer, which works out to about $129, and air conditioning is what drives the difference.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It is a widely used benchmark, and HUD treats housing costs above 30% of income as cost-burdened. Plenty of renters exceed it. According to Apartment List research, about 51.8% of U.S. renter households are cost-burdened and 26.1% are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on housing, based on 2024 ACS data. Those are national figures, not Tucson-specific.

How Do Solo and Shared Tucson Budgets Compare?

At the August 2026 median, a two-bedroom would cost about $562 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $876 for a one-bedroom you pay for on your own (Apartment List, August 2026), a difference of roughly $314 a month before utilities and fees. That $562 share corresponds to about $22,480 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.