Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The gap is staggering: 71 points separate #1 Frisco (index 102) from #282 Miami (index 173) within New Jersey. That spread means your housing, groceries, and daily expenses can cost 41% more depending on which city you choose. Here are all 282 cities, ranked with 2026 data.
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 102, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
173 of 282 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
The gap is staggering: 71 points separate #1 Frisco (index 102) from #282 Miami (index 173) within New Jersey. That spread means your housing, groceries, and daily expenses can cost 41% more depending on which city you choose. Here are all 282 cities, ranked with 2026 data.
Why Frisco ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 102 on the cost index, residents save roughly 9% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,751/month while the median household pulls in $146,158/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 100, though Housing (102) 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. That tracks. Frisco (index 102, rent $1,751); Allen (index 95, rent $1,634); Cary (index 96, rent $1,649). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Digging deeper, Here's the state-level backdrop: New Jersey averages a 140 cost index, $2,388/mo rent, and $65,217 income across 4 cities. That's $493 more than the national rent average. Nation's highest property taxes and NYC proximity premiums — 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
Dive into Frisco's numbers: cost index 102 — for better or worse — (9 points below national average), rent $1,751/month, income $146,158, and a home price of $653,858. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 100, while Housing runs 102. With 225,007 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
111,620 residents · Texas
Here's Allen by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 95. Rent: $1,634/month. Income: $129,130/year. Home price: $497,016. Population: 111,620. The strongest category is Housing at 95; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,132 per year vs. the national median. If you're debt-free, those savings go straight to building wealth.
180,010 residents · North Carolina
Cary earns its position at #3 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 96 cost index sits 15 points below the national baseline, and the $129,399 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $620,401 — $153,031 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 96, while Healthcare trails at 99.
213,509 residents · Texas
At $1,675/month for rent and a cost index of 98, Mckinney is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. That's a reasonable number. Income is $120,273. That's a reasonable number.
150,245 residents · Illinois
Why Naperville ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 126 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 15% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,157/month while the median household pulls in $150,937/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 105, though Housing (126) lags behind. Home prices average $594,498 — $127,128 above the national median (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
We pull all cities outside New Jersey and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than New Jersey'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 New Jersey 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 #282) 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.
New Jersey 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.