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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
For retirees on a fixed income, every percentage point matters. And as a general rule, our retiree-weighted model scored 4 cities in Kansas and Wichita (index 87, healthcare 90, state tax 5.7%) takes the top spot. Hard to argue with that.
#1 Ranked: Wichita — cost index 87, rent $1,125/mo, income $63,072
Retiree-weighted scoring: healthcare index 90, state tax 5.7%, cost index 87 — protecting fixed retirement income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
For retirees on a fixed income, every percentage point matters. And as a general rule, our retiree-weighted model scored 4 cities in Kansas and Wichita (index 87, healthcare 90, state tax 5.7%) takes the top spot. Hard to argue with that.
Retirement affordability is about protecting fixed income. Our model weights healthcare costs at 25 points (medical bills are the #1 financial risk in retirement), cost index at 25 points, and state tax burden at 15 points (taxes directly reduce pension and Social Security income). Wichita leads with low healthcare costs, a 5.7% state tax rate, and a cost index of 87 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — . Topeka offers competitive healthcare and cost metrics.
So, Wichita. And generally speaking, cost index of 87, rent at $1,125/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $63,072, which is below the national median. It's fine. Not great, not bad (more on that below).
If you only look at rent, it's perfect. Zoom out and it's complicated. In Wichita, the healthcare index sits at 90 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And as a general rule, the difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers (which, to be fair, is a metric that favors smaller cities).
396,119 residents · Kansas
Here's Wichita by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 87. It lines up with what you'd expect. Rent: $1,125/month. Income: $63,072/year. Home price: $198,074. Population: 396,119. The strongest category is Housing at 68; the most expensive is Healthcare at 90. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $9,240 per year vs. the national median. That ratio is hard to beat anywhere else.
125,475 residents · Kansas
Dive into Topeka's numbers: cost index 87 — for better or worse — (25 points below national average), rent $1,169/month, income $55,902, and a home price of $186,856. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 68, while Healthcare runs 90. With 125,475 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
197,089 residents · Kansas
Why Overland Park ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 108 on the cost index, residents save roughly 4% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,666/month while the median household pulls in $103,838/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 100, though Housing (120) lags behind. Home prices average $470,417 — $3,047 above the national median.
147,461 residents · Kansas
A closer look at Olathe: the cost index of 108 breaks down to a Utilities index of 100 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 120 (weakest). Median rent is $1,792/month — 5% below the national median — while household income sits at $112,232, meaning locals spend about 19% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
Wichita ranks #1 in Kansas for this analysis with a cost index of 87 and median income of $63,072.
Wichita scores highest for retirees due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,125/mo, and competitive median income of $63,072.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Wichita (ranked #1) has a cost index of 87 and rent of $1,125/mo, while Olathe (ranked #4) has a cost index of 108 and rent of $1,792/mo — a 21-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Wichita is $1,125/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $770 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Wichita is $198,074, which is 3.1× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Kansas has a 5.7% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.7%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.28%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.