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What does a Surgical Technologists salary really buy you in Arizona?
Arizona is near the US average cost of livingData: BLS OEWS 2025 + BEA Regional Price Parities 2022 • Updated 2026-05-19
Arizona's Regional Price Parity (RPP) is 99.9, meaning prices are 0.1% lower the national average. A Surgical Technologists earning $72,260 in Arizona has the equivalent purchasing power of $72,332 in an average-cost US state.
Every dollar goes further in low-cost states. Here is how each salary percentile compares after adjusting for Arizona's cost of living.
| Percentile | Nominal Salary | COL-Adjusted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (P10) | $50,030 | $50,080 | +$50 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $62,620 | $62,682 | +$62 |
| Median (P50) | $72,260 | $72,332 | +$72 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $83,550 | $83,633 | +$83 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $96,840 | $96,936 | +$96 |
Arizona's cost of living is close to the national average, so $72,260 keeps most of its value at $72,332 in real terms. Location choice here is more about career opportunities than cost arbitrage.
With an RPP of 99.9, Arizona is within a few percent of the national cost-of-living baseline. Salary adjustment for Surgical Technologists is therefore minor — what you earn is close to what you'd keep in real purchasing power.
After adjusting for Arizona's cost of living, $72,260 nominal nets out to $72,332 in real purchasing power — a small 0.1% gain. The state's cost profile is close enough to average that COL alone shouldn't drive location decisions for this Surgical Technologists.
Ranked on COL-adjusted median pay for Surgical Technologists, Arizona places #12 of 51 states — top quartile. Either nominal wages run high, cost of living runs low, or both.
Where does Surgical Technologists salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Arizona ranks #12 out of 51 states for Surgical Technologists after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Surgical Technologists take-home pay in Arizona after taxes →
A Surgical Technologists in Arizona earns a median salary of $72,260 per year. After adjusting for Arizona's cost of living (RPP=99.9), the real purchasing power is $72,332 — a +0.1% difference.
Arizona's cost of living is 0.1% lower than the national average according to the BEA Regional Price Parities (2022). The RPP index for Arizona is 99.9 (US average = 100).
Regional Price Parities (RPPs) are price indexes published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) that measure differences in price levels across states. They are expressed as a percentage of the national average (US = 100). Higher RPP means higher cost of living.
The adjusted salary is calculated as: Nominal Salary x (100 / RPP). For a Surgical Technologists in Arizona: $72,260 x (100 / 99.9) = $72,332. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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