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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
High income and low costs rarely coexist — but Frisco pulls it off. It lines up with what you'd expect. At $146,158 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — median household income and a 102 cost index, residents enjoy purchasing power that 98% exceeds the national average. We found thi…
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 102, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
Frisco: high income, low cost — a rare combo
165 of 274 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
High income and low costs rarely coexist — but Frisco pulls it off. It lines up with what you'd expect. At $146,158 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — median household income and a 102 cost index, residents enjoy purchasing power that 98% exceeds the national average. We found this pattern across 274 cities in Arizona using 2026 data.
Frisco: high income, low cost — a rare combo. And generally speaking, frisco earns above the national median ($146,158 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 102 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Why Frisco ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 102 on the cost index, residents save roughly 9% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,751/month — for better or worse — while the median household pulls in $146,158/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 100, though Housing (102) lags behind. Home prices average $653,858 — $186,488 above the national median.
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 102, rent $1,751); Allen (index 95, rent $1,634); Cary (index 96, rent $1,649). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Real talk: an outlier in the best sense.
Worth noting: Here's the state-level backdrop: Arizona averages a 103 cost index, $1,772/mo rent, and $89,827 income across 12 cities. That's $123 less than the national rent average. Desert sun, retiree magnet, and fast growth — and that context shapes every city in this ranking.
Bottom line: Frisco leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers. There's an argument to be made — and I think the data supports it — that the cities getting all the attention right now are exactly the wrong places to move. The spotlight drives migration, migration drives demand, demand drives costs, and eventually the value proposition disappears. Meanwhile, cities like this one keep quietly being affordable, and the people who find them early are the ones who benefit most.
Frisco earns above the national median ($146,158 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 102 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Rent ranges from $1,751/mo in Frisco to $2,964/mo in Miami — a monthly difference of $1,213, or $14,556 per year.
Frisco (index 102) and Miami (index 173) sit 71 points apart on the cost index — proof that Arizona is far from monolithic in affordability.
225,007 residents · Texas
Full transparency here: What does daily life actually cost in Frisco? Start with the 14% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Healthcare (index 100) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 102) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $146,158 and homes at $653,858 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
111,620 residents · Texas
Here's Allen by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 95. Rent: $1,634/month. Income: $129,130/year. Home price: $497,016. Population: 111,620. The strongest category is Housing at 95; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,132 per year vs. the national median. Financially, that's significant.
180,010 residents · North Carolina
Here's Cary by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 96. Rent: $1,649/month. Income: $129,399/year. Home price: $620,401. Population: 180,010. The strongest category is Housing at 96; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $2,952 per year vs. the national median. On a teacher's salary, this difference is the line between paycheck-to-paycheck and comfortable.
213,509 residents · Texas
Mckinney earns its position at #4 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 98 cost index sits 13 points below the national baseline, and the $120,273 — though some people might weigh that differently — median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. That alone makes it worth considering. Homes list at $483,340 — $15,970 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 98, while Healthcare trails at 100 (yes, really).
150,245 residents · Illinois
Why Naperville ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. That alone makes it worth considering. At 126 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 15% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,157/month while the median household pulls in $150,937/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 105, though Housing (126) lags behind. Home prices average $594,498 — $127,128 above the national median.
We pull all cities outside Arizona and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than Arizona'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 Arizona for this analysis with a cost index of 102 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 102 and rent of $1,751/mo, while Miami (ranked #274) has a cost index of 173 and rent of $2,964/mo — a 71-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.
Arizona 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.