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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: Maryland 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 Maryland, and we've ranked all 285 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
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
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. That's the kind of stat homebuyers should print out for their mortgage meetings.
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. Run the numbers annually, and it's like getting a bonus you didn't negotiate.
111,620 residents · Texas
A closer look at Allen: the cost index of 109 breaks down to a Utilities index of 100 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 122 (weakest). Median rent is $1,634/month — 14% below the national median — while household income sits at $129,130, meaning locals spend about 15% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard. Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
116,320 residents · Texas
Look, 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.
#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: Maryland 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 Maryland, and we've ranked all 285 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
A closer look at Frisco: the cost index of 118 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.
If you only look at rent, it's perfect. Zoom out and it's complicated. In Frisco, the housing index sits at 145 — above average and worth factoring in.
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.
We pull all cities outside Maryland and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than Maryland'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 Maryland 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.
Maryland 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.