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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. At $146,158 median household income and a 102 cost index, residents enjoy purchasing power that 98% exceeds the national average. We found this pattern across 285 cities in Montana using 2026 data.
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 102, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
Frisco: high income, low cost — a rare combo
172 of 285 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. At $146,158 median household income and a 102 cost index, residents enjoy purchasing power that 98% exceeds the national average. We found this pattern across 285 cities in Montana using 2026 data.
A closer look at Frisco: the cost index of 102 — whether that matters depends on your situation — breaks down to a Healthcare index of 100 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 102 (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'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. And roughly speaking, 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 (that's pre-tax, of course). No gimmicks — just good numbers.
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 Montana is far from monolithic in affordability.
225,007 residents · Texas
Real talk: Frisco earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 102 cost index sits 9 points below the national baseline, and the $146,158 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $653,858 — $186,488 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 100, while Housing trails at 102.
111,620 residents · Texas
In plain English: Why Allen ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. That alone makes it worth considering. At 95 on the cost index, residents save roughly 16% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,634/month while the median household pulls in $129,130/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 95, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $497,016 — $29,646 above the national median.
180,010 residents · North Carolina
Dive into Cary's numbers: cost index 96 — for better or worse — (15 points below national average), rent $1,649/month, income $129,399, and a home price of $620,401. Fairly typical for a city this size. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 96, while Healthcare runs 99. With 180,010 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
213,509 residents · Texas
A closer look at Mckinney: the cost index of 98 — for better or worse — breaks down to a Housing index of 98 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 100 (weakest). Median rent is $1,675/month — 12% below the national median — while household income sits at $120,273, meaning locals spend about 17% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
150,245 residents · Illinois
The #5 spot goes to Naperville, and the breakdown explains why. And in most cases, renters here pay $2,157/month — costing renters $3,144 more per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Healthcare is the standout at index 105, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 126. At a 17% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Frisco ranks #1 in Montana 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 #285) 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.
Montana 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.