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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
This isn't just a stat. It's a signal. Frisco: high income, low cost — a rare combo. 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. The data here speaks for it…
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 102, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
Frisco: high income, low cost — a rare combo
171 of 284 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
This isn't just a stat. It's a signal. Frisco: high income, low cost — a rare combo. 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. The data here speaks for itself.
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 284 cities in Nebraska using 2026 data.
Frisco comes in at #1. Rent is $1,751 a month. Household income is $146,158. The cost of living index is 102. That tracks.
Perhaps more importantly, State context matters: Nebraska's 2 cities average a 79 cost index with $1,348/month — for better or worse — median rent and $71,350 household income. Flyover affordability hiding in plain sight. Look at the property tax column — one city blows the rest away.
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.
225,007 residents · Texas
Here's Frisco by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 102. Rent: $1,751/month. Income: $146,158/year. Home price: $653,858. Population: 225,007. The strongest category is Healthcare at 100; the most expensive is Housing at 102. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $1,728 per year vs. the national median. This is one of those rare cities where the math works from every angle.
111,620 residents · Texas
Allen earns its position at #2 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 95 cost index sits 16 points below the national baseline, and the $129,130 — for better or worse — median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $497,016 — $29,646 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 95, while Healthcare trails at 99.
180,010 residents · North Carolina
Why Cary ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 96 on the cost index, residents save roughly 15% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,649/month while the median household pulls in $129,399/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 96, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $620,401 — $153,031 above the national median (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
213,509 residents · Texas
Dive into Mckinney's numbers: cost index 98 (13 points below national average), rent $1,675/month, income $120,273, and a home price of $483,340. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 98, while Healthcare runs 100. With 213,509 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
150,245 residents · Illinois
A closer look at Naperville: the cost index of 126 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 105 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 126 (weakest). And for the typical household, median rent is $2,157/month — 14% above the national median — while household income sits at $150,937, meaning locals spend about 17% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
We pull all cities outside Nebraska and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than Nebraska'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 Nebraska 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 #284) 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.
Nebraska 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.