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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Texas is a genuine bargain: 38 of the 40 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Frisco leads at an index of 118 with rent at just $1,751/month — 8% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
#1 Ranked: Frisco — cost index 118, rent $1,751/mo, income $146,158
38 of 40 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
Texas is a genuine bargain: 38 of the 40 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Frisco leads at an index of 118 with rent at just $1,751/month — 8% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
A closer look at Frisco: the cost index of 118 breaks down to a Utilities index of 108 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 145 (weakest). Median rent is $1,751/month — 8% below the national median — while household income sits at $146,158, meaning locals spend about 14% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard. I'll say what the data can't: this city punches above its weight in ways that don't show up in a spreadsheet. There's a reason people who move here tend to stay. You can call it quality of life, you can call it vibes, whatever — the point is, the cost structure gives people room to actually enjoy where they live, and that's increasingly rare in this country.
Value = income ÷ cost index. That's more or less in line with the region. The national benchmark ratio is 718. Frisco delivers 1239 — 73% more purchasing power per dollar earned. This metric catches cities that expensive-but-high-paying rankings miss: a $90K salary in a city with index 80 buys more than $120K in a city with index 150.
That said, The 40 cities we track in Texas paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 99. Median rent: $1,536/month. Household income: $79,780. Texas is known for no income tax, massive metros, and wide-open affordability — and the data backs that reputation convincingly (we double-checked this one). Not even close to the national average.
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.
| Rank | City | Value Ratio | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frisco | 1,239 | 118 | $1,751 | Details |
| 2 | Sugar Land | 1,228 | 112 | $1,990 | Details |
| 3 | Allen | 1,185 | 109 | $1,634 | Details |
| 4 | League | 1,142 | 105 | $1,764 | Details |
| 5 | Mckinney | 1,103 | 109 | $1,675 | Details |
| 6 | Pearland | 1,061 | 106 | $1,797 | Details |
| 7 | Plano | 988 | 110 | $1,717 | Details |
| 8 | Carrollton | 962 | 103 | $1,517 | Details |
| 9 | Round Rock | 934 | 104 | $1,593 | Details |
| 10 | Midland | 912 | 100 | $1,585 | Details |
| 11 | Richardson | 900 | 107 | $1,676 | Details |
| 12 | New Braunfels | 874 | 101 | $1,567 | Details |
| 13 | Austin | 855 | 107 | $1,531 | Details |
| 14 | Lewisville | 825 | 103 | $1,573 | Details |
| 15 | Grand Prairie | 789 | 100 | $1,602 | Details |
| 16 | Irving | 789 | 101 | $1,587 | Details |
| 17 | Fort Worth | 782 | 98 | $1,554 | Details |
| 18 | Garland | 762 | 98 | $1,563 | Details |
| 19 | Conroe | 760 | 99 | $1,524 | Details |
| 20 | Odessa | 753 | 97 | $1,612 | Details |
| 21 | Arlington | 750 | 98 | $1,462 | Details |
| 22 | Denton | 737 | 100 | $1,491 | Details |
| 23 | Corpus Christi | 713 | 93 | $1,433 | Details |
| 24 | Tyler | 712 | 92 | $1,290 | Details |
| 25 | Pasadena | 706 | 91 | $1,318 | Details |
| 26 | Amarillo | 702 | 89 | $1,245 | Details |
| 27 | Laredo | 695 | 91 | $1,327 | Details |
| 28 | Dallas | 684 | 99 | $1,591 | Details |
| 29 | San Antonio | 677 | 93 | $1,361 | Details |
| 30 | Mcallen | 661 | 91 | $1,272 | Details |
| 31 | Lubbock | 657 | 92 | $1,388 | Details |
| 32 | Beaumont | 654 | 88 | $1,275 | Details |
| 33 | Houston | 648 | 97 | $1,542 | Details |
| 34 | Killeen | 648 | 90 | $1,280 | Details |
| 35 | Abilene | 640 | 98 | $1,758 | Details |
| 36 | El Paso | 625 | 94 | $1,441 | Details |
| 37 | Waco | 566 | 91 | $1,368 | Details |
| 38 | Brownsville | 512 | 95 | $1,621 | Details |
| 39 | College Station | 498 | 104 | $1,755 | Details |
| 40 | Mesquite | 404 | 94 | $1,397 | Details |
225,007 residents · Texas
Here's Frisco by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 118. Rent: $1,751/month. Income: $146,158/year. Home price: $653,858. Population: 225,007. The strongest category is Utilities at 108; the most expensive is Housing at 145. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $1,728 per year vs. the national median. This is the kind of number that should get your attention.
108,515 residents · Texas
Dive into Sugar Land's numbers: cost index 112 (0 points above national average), rent $1,990/month, income $137,511, and a home price of $440,419. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 103, while Housing runs 130. With 108,515 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
111,620 residents · Texas
The #3 spot goes to Allen, and the breakdown explains why. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. Renters here pay $1,634/month — whether that matters depends on your situation — — saving renters $3,132 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 100, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 122. At a 15% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
116,320 residents · Texas
The numbers for League are straightforward: 105 on the cost index, $1,764/month rent, $119,870 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
213,509 residents · Texas
Mckinney is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,675/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 109. Income sits at $120,273. That's more or less in line with the region.
Frisco ranks #1 in Texas 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 #40) 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.
Texas 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.