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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania, and we've ranked all 283 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive land…
Let's be honest: Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania, and we've ranked all 283 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
Frisco comes in at #1. Rent is $1,751 a month. Household income is $146,158. The cost of living index is 118. No major red flags in that number.
Put it this way: 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. Can we talk about how broken the conversation around affordability is? A city gets labeled 'cheap' and suddenly everyone assumes there's a catch — bad schools, no jobs, nothing to do. But look at the income numbers here. Nothing too surprising there. Look at the cost categories. This isn't a budget consolation prize. It's a genuine alternative to the coastal rat race, and the data makes that case more convincingly than any think piece.
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 118, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
173 of 283 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
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 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.
150,245 residents · Illinois
What does daily life actually cost in Naperville? Start with the 17% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. No major red flags in that number. On the category level, Utilities (index 112) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 154) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $150,937 and homes at $594,498 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
108,515 residents · Texas
The #3 spot goes to Sugar Land, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,990/month — costing renters $1,140 more per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 103, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 130. At a 17% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget. That's not nothing.
111,620 residents · Texas
At $1,634/month for rent and a cost index of 109, Allen is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $129,130. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. Worth a deeper look.
116,320 residents · Texas
The #5 spot goes to League, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,764/month — saving renters $1,572 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 97, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 113. At a 18% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Frisco ranks #1 in Pennsylvania 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 #283) 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.
Pennsylvania 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.