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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Premium market, smart picks: while Washington trends above the national average, the gap between the most and least expensive cities here is wider than you'd think. Frisco at index 118 is the standout — offering meaningful savings without leaving Washington. No gimmicks — just good numbers.
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 118, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
172 of 278 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
Premium market, smart picks: while Washington trends above the national average, the gap between the most and least expensive cities here is wider than you'd think. Frisco at index 118 is the standout — offering meaningful savings without leaving Washington. No gimmicks — just good numbers.
Frisco comes in at #1. Rent is $1,751 a month. Household income is $146,158. The cost of living index is 118. That's more or less in line with the region.
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. Frisco (index 118, rent $1,751); Naperville (index 122, rent $2,157); Sugar Land (index 112, rent $1,990). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
In plain English: 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. There's not much to say about that beyond the obvious. 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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
225,007 residents · Texas
Frisco comes in at #1. Rent is $1,751 a month. Household income is $146,158. The cost of living index is 118. It's fine. Not great, not bad. Not even close to the national average.
150,245 residents · Illinois
The numbers for Naperville are straightforward: 122 on the cost index, $2,157/month rent, $150,937 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
108,515 residents · Texas
Sugar Land is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,990/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 112. Income sits at $137,511. That's about what we'd expect given the state context (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
111,620 residents · Texas
Here's Allen by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 109. Rent: $1,634/month. Income: $129,130/year. Home price: $497,016. Population: 111,620. The strongest category is Utilities at 100; the most expensive is Housing at 122. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,132 per year vs. the national median. That's an underrated factor in the decision.
116,320 residents · Texas
No sugarcoating: Why League ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 105 on the cost index, residents save roughly 7% less than the typical American. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. Rent sits at $1,764/month while the median household pulls in $119,870/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 97, though Housing (113) lags behind. Home prices average $368,400 — $98,970 below the national median.
We pull all cities outside Washington and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than Washington'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 Washington 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 #278) 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.
Washington 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.