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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices in Arizona — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. It lines up with what you'd expect. Frisco (index 118 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — , rent $1,751/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 274 citie…
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 118, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
167 of 274 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
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices in Arizona — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. It lines up with what you'd expect. Frisco (index 118 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — , rent $1,751/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 274 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026.
Why Frisco ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. And generally speaking, at 118 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 6% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,751/month while the median household pulls in $146,158/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 108, though Housing (145) 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 118 — for better or worse — , 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. 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.
An outlier in the best sense.
Real talk: Worth noting: Here's the state-level backdrop: Arizona averages a 110 cost index, $1,772/mo — we had to double-check this one — rent, and $89,827 income across 12 cities. And most of the time, 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.
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, Utilities (index 108) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 145) 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.
150,245 residents · Illinois
Here's Naperville by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 122. Rent: $2,157/month. 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. Financially, that's significant.
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. On a teacher's salary, this difference is the line between paycheck-to-paycheck and comfortable.
111,620 residents · Texas
Allen earns its position at #4 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 109 cost index sits 3 points below the national baseline, and the $129,130 — 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 $497,016 — $29,646 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 100, while Housing trails at 122 (yes, really).
116,320 residents · Texas
Why League ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. That alone makes it worth considering. At 105 on the cost index, residents save roughly 7% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,764/month 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 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 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 #274) 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.
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.