Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices in Georgia — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. Frisco (index 118, rent $1,751/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 281 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026. No gimmicks — just good numbers.
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices in Georgia — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. Frisco (index 118, rent $1,751/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 281 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026. No gimmicks — just good numbers.
Look, 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.
Why Frisco ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 118 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 6% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,751/month — for better or worse — 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.
This looks affordable — until you factor in housing. In Frisco, the housing index sits at 145 — above average and worth factoring in.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
#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
225,007 residents · Texas
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
Naperville comes in at #2. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. Rent is $2,157 a month. Household income is $150,937. The cost of living index is 122. That's about what we'd expect given the state context.
108,515 residents · Texas
Real talk: the numbers for Sugar Land are straightforward: 112 on the cost index, $1,990/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — rent, $137,511 income. You get the picture. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. You get the picture. One to watch.
111,620 residents · Texas
The numbers for Allen are straightforward: 109 on the cost index, $1,634/month — make of that what you will — rent, $129,130 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
116,320 residents · Texas
Straight up: 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 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.
Frisco ranks #1 in Georgia 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.
Georgia 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.