Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Atlanta breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Atlanta delivers a median household income of $81,938 (2% above the national median) while keeping costs 1 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288…
Atlanta breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Atlanta delivers a median household income of $81,938 (2% above the national median) while keeping costs 1 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288 cities we track.
Why Atlanta ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 110 on the cost index, residents save roughly 1% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,888/month while the median household pulls in $81,938/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 102, though Housing (110) lags behind. Home prices average $381,549 — $85,821 below the national median.
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.
#1 Ranked: Atlanta, GA — cost index 110, rent $1,888/mo, income $81,938
Atlanta: high income, low cost — a rare combo
2 of 2 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
510,823 residents · Georgia
A closer look at Atlanta: the cost index of 110 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 102 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 110 (weakest). Median rent is $1,888/month — 0% above the national median — while household income sits at $81,938, meaning locals spend about 28% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
483,335 residents · Nebraska
Dive into Omaha's numbers: cost index 82 (29 points below national average), rent $1,403/month, income $72,708, and a home price of $288,850. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 82, while Healthcare runs 96. With 483,335 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
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.
Atlanta (ranked #1) has a cost index of 110 and rent of $1,888/mo, while Omaha (ranked #2) has a cost index of 82 and rent of $1,403/mo — a 28-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 Atlanta is $1,888/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $7 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Atlanta is $381,549, which is 4.7× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
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.