Will you spend as much as the average Tucsonan?

Tucsonans aren’t expected to spend as much on holiday presents this year as the average American.

At least that’s the conclusion of WalletHub. The financial advice website analyzed everything from income to savings to come up with what spokeswoman Jill Gonzalez called a “recommended” level of spending.

Obviously, that doesn’t mean what each person in a given community will make purchases at that level — or even that the whole community, on average, will reach that level.

But Gonzalez said it provides a guidepost.

“We basically considered someone with enough emergency savings to cover a broad range of expenses,” she explained.

“We looked at the debt-to-income ratio, depending on if you’re a renter or a homeowner, being in a comfortable position to engage in holiday spending.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Also factored in were things like monthly income as compared to monthly expenses; and median age of residents.

She said the average seasonal spending on gifts nationwide is about $800.

“But, depending on where you live, you might not be able to afford that,” Gonzalez said.

So, for example, after looking at all the factors from the average Flagstaff resident, WalletHub put the anticipated gift-giving at $484.

Tucson was slightly higher, with shoppers expected to spend $578.

At the other extreme in Arizona, Gonzalez said Chandler residents, on average, should be buying $1,245 worth of gifts based on their ability to open their wallets. That community even beat out Scottsdale, where WalletHub found residents had a higher debt-to-income ratio.