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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: Alabama isn't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Frisco proves it with a cost index of 118, the lowest in Alabama, and we've ranked all 281 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 118, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
171 of 281 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Let's be honest: Alabama isn't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Frisco proves it with a cost index of 118, the lowest in Alabama, and we've ranked all 281 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
The way we see it, Frisco comes in at #1. Rent is $1,751 a month. Household income is $146,158. The cost of living index is 118. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
The ranking uses a composite of 2026 data from Census Bureau population/income surveys, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary benchmarks, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Frisco (index 118, rent $1,751); Naperville (index 122, rent $2,157); Sugar Land (index 112, rent $1,990). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Keep reading — the next section adds critical context. Here's the state-level backdrop: Alabama averages a 90 cost index, $1,340/mo rent, and $54,093 income across 5 cities. That's $555 less than the national rent average. Southern charm meets low cost of living — and that context shapes every city in this ranking.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. 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.
225,007 residents · Texas
A closer look at Frisco: the cost index of 118 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — breaks down to a Utilities index of 108 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 145 (weakest). Median rent is $1,751/month — 8% below the national median — while household income sits at $146,158, meaning locals spend about 14% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
150,245 residents · Illinois
In plain English: Here's Naperville by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 122. Rent: $2,157/month — for better or worse — . Income: $150,937/year. Home price: $594,498. Population: 150,245. The strongest category is Utilities at 112; the most expensive is Housing at 154. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $3,144 more per year vs. the national median. That ratio is hard to beat anywhere else.
108,515 residents · Texas
Here's Sugar Land by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 112. Rent: $1,990/month — we had to double-check this one — . Income: $137,511/year. Home price: $440,419. Population: 108,515. The strongest category is Utilities at 103; the most expensive is Housing at 130. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $1,140 more per year vs. the national median. That's a spread that makes moving costs look trivial.
111,620 residents · Texas
Why Allen ranks #4: the numbers tell a clear story. At 109 on the cost index, residents save roughly 3% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,634/month while the median household pulls in $129,130/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 100, though Housing (122) lags behind. Home prices average $497,016 — $29,646 above the national median.
116,320 residents · Texas
Why League ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 105 on the cost index, residents save roughly 7% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,764/month — whether that matters depends on your situation — while the median household pulls in $119,870/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 97, though Housing (113) lags behind. Home prices average $368,400 — $98,970 below the national median.
We pull all cities outside Alabama and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than Alabama's averages surface first. Population and rent data provide additional context. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Frisco ranks #1 in Alabama for this analysis with a cost index of 118 and median income of $146,158.
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.
Frisco (ranked #1) has a cost index of 118 and rent of $1,751/mo, while Mesquite (ranked #281) has a cost index of 94 and rent of $1,397/mo — a 24-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 Frisco is $1,751/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $144 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Frisco is $653,858, which is 4.5× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Alabama has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.19%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.6%.
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.