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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices in Wisconsin — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. Frisco (index 118, rent $1,751/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 284 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 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
Dive into Naperville's numbers: cost index 122 (10 points above national average), rent $2,157/month, income $150,937, and a home price of $594,498. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 112, while Housing runs 154. With 150,245 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
108,515 residents · Texas
In plain English: the #3 spot goes to Sugar Land, and the breakdown explains why. And generally speaking, 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.
111,620 residents · Texas
What does daily life actually cost in Allen? Start with the 15% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. And broadly, on the category level, Utilities (index 100) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 122) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $129,130 and homes at $497,016 round out a profile that ranks #4 for clear reasons (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
116,320 residents · Texas
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. 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 (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 118, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
174 of 284 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
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices in Wisconsin — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. Frisco (index 118, rent $1,751/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 284 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026.
Frisco comes in at #1. Rent is $1,751 a month. Household income is $146,158. The cost of living index is 118. Moving on.
(Tangentially — this is the kind of city where you can actually build equity on a median salary, which is increasingly rare.)
What's equally notable: Across Wisconsin, the average cost of living index is 99 — 13 points below the national median. And as a general rule, known for dairy state stability with surprisingly low costs, the state offers 2 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,524/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — . That's $371 less than the national average of $1,895. When healthcare costs are this low, the savings ripple across every other category (we double-checked this one).
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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes). Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
We pull all cities outside Wisconsin and rank them by value ratio (income ÷ cost index). Cities offering lower costs or higher income than Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin 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 #284) 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.
Wisconsin 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.