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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: Alaska 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 Alaska, and we've ranked all 285 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
175 of 285 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: Alaska 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 Alaska, and we've ranked all 285 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
Here's Frisco by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 118. Rent: $1,751/month. Income: $146,158/year. Home price: $653,858. Population: 225,007. The strongest category is Utilities at 108; the most expensive is Housing at 145. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $1,728 per year vs. the national median. That gap is hard to ignore. Can we talk about how broken the conversation around affordability is? A city gets labeled 'cheap' and suddenly everyone assumes there's a catch — bad schools, no jobs, nothing to do. But look at the income numbers here. Look at the cost categories. This isn't a budget consolation prize. It's a genuine alternative to the coastal rat race, and the data makes that case more convincingly than any think piece.
Quick aside: when housing takes less of your income, the secondary effects are real — less financial stress, more discretionary spending, better local businesses.
In plain English: Here's the asterisk: Here's the state-level backdrop: Alaska averages a 105 cost index, $1,660/mo — for better or worse — rent, and $98,152 income across 1 cities. That's $235 less than the national rent average. Vast wilderness, high wages, and higher prices — 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. And more often than not, 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. Not even close to the national average.
225,007 residents · Texas
The #1 spot goes to Frisco, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,751/month — saving renters $1,728 per year compared to the national average. That alone makes it worth considering. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 108, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 145. At a 14% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
150,245 residents · Illinois
Why Naperville ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 122 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 10% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,157/month while the median household pulls in $150,937/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 112, though Housing (154) lags behind. Home prices average $594,498 — $127,128 above the national median.
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. 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 margin of safety most budgets don't have.
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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
116,320 residents · Texas
League earns its position at #5 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 105 cost index sits 7 points below the national baseline, and the $119,870 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $368,400 — $98,970 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 97, while Housing trails at 113.
Frisco ranks #1 in Alaska 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 #285) 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.
Alaska 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.