Moving from Arizona to California
28,174 people moved from Arizona to California in 2024, the 26th busiest of the 57 interstate moves covered here; 52,383 moved the other way.
The year you move. You normally file part-year resident returns in both states: Arizona taxes the income earned while you lived there and California the income earned after you arrive, so neither full-year figure below is what you pay that year.
Local income tax at each end. Arizona: no local income tax. California: no local income tax.
At $100,000 a single filer pays $2,805 a year for moving from Arizona to California — $234 a month. Arizona charges $2,106 at that income and California charges $4,911, an effective 2.11% against 4.91%. Arizona vs California, side by side.
The gap is not constant. At $50,000 it is $117; at $500,000 it is $31,436. Arizona is a flat-rate state and California is graduated, which is why the gap widens as income rises.
The move priced at every income
State income tax in both jurisdictions for tax year 2026, at the standard tiers. Change the filing status to see how the answer moves.
| Income | Arizona tax | California tax | Change per year | Change per month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $856 | $973 | +$117 | +$10 | 1.71% → 1.95% |
| $75,000 | $1,481 | $2,665 | +$1,184 | +$99 | 1.98% → 3.55% |
| $100,000 | $2,106 | $4,911 | +$2,805 | +$234 | 2.11% → 4.91% |
| $150,000 | $3,356 | $9,561 | +$6,205 | +$517 | 2.24% → 6.37% |
| $250,000 | $5,856 | $18,861 | +$13,005 | +$1,084 | 2.34% → 7.54% |
| $500,000 | $12,106 | $43,543 | +$31,436 | +$2,620 | 2.42% → 8.71% |
Want a figure for your own income? Open this pair in the moving calculator, which also takes Maryland county and New York City local taxes.
Both states at $100,000
Arizona (leaving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026California (arriving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026How many people make this move
28,174 people moved from Arizona to California in 2024, give or take 4,463 — the American Community Survey is a sample, and its margin of error on a flow this size is wide. That makes it the 26th busiest of the 57 interstate moves with a page of their own.
The traffic runs both ways: 52,383 people moved the other way, from California to Arizona, in the same year. That is a net 24,209 toward Arizona. The return trip has its own page: moving from California to Arizona.
Movers: U.S. Census Bureau, Table 1. State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) (retrieved 2026-09-23). Universe: population 1 year and over in the united states. Tax figures are computed from each state's own rate schedule and are unrelated to this dataset.
What else changes between Arizona and California
Capital gains. A long-term gain meets a top rate of 1.88% in Arizona and 13.30% in California.
Arizona, today: Arizona subtracts 25% of net long-term capital gain from assets acquired after December 31, 2011. Against the flat 2.5% rate that leaves an effective 1.875%. A.R.S. s 43-1022(22)(c) allows the subtraction "For taxable years beginning from and after December 31, 2014, twenty-five percent of the net long-term capital gain included in federal adjusted gross income."
California, after the move: California is the plainest statement of the rule in the country and the most expensive. The Franchise Tax Board states: "California does not have a lower rate for capital gains. All capital gains are taxed as ordinary income." For 2026 the top bracket is 12.3%, and a 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1,000,000 takes the top to 13.3%, the highest rate on a long-term gain anywhere in the United States. Compare every state.
Retirement income. California: California excludes U.S. Social Security benefits and equivalent Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits from taxable income. Compare every state.
Direction of travel. Arizona's top rate has fallen 5.50 points since 2021. California's top rate has not moved since 2021. Arizona history · California history.
What this does not answer
State income tax only. Property tax, sales tax and housing costs usually matter more to a moving decision than the figures on this page, and none of them is here.
Rates are tax year 2026. Sources: Arizona Department of Revenue and California Franchise Tax Board. How we verify this data · Disclaimer