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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Look, There's a catch worth understanding. Austin: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Austin earns above the national median ($91,461 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 89 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it. Over thirty years of home…
Austin earns above the national median ($91,461 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 89 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Rent in #1-ranked Austin has decreased from $1,578 to $1,531/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% decrease. The downward trend makes it an even stronger pick.
Look, There's a catch worth understanding. Austin: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Austin earns above the national median ($91,461 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 89 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it. Over thirty years of homeownership, the property tax savings alone are staggering.
Frankly, Austin breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. You get the picture. Most affordable cities pay less — but Austin delivers a median household income of $91,461 — though some people might weigh that differently — (14% above the national median) while keeping costs 22 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288 cities we track (more on that below).
Real talk: So, Austin. And for the typical household, cost index of 89, rent at $1,531/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $91,461, which is above average. Standard stuff, really.
The broader context shifts things: Nationally, the 288 cities in our database average a cost index of 111, rent of $1,895/month, and household income of $80,367. The cities in this ranking significantly outperform those benchmarks. This is quietly one of the better values out there.
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. 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.
#1 Ranked: Austin, TX — cost index 89, rent $1,531/mo, income $91,461
Austin: high income, low cost — a rare combo
1 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
979,882 residents · Texas
So, Austin. Cost index of 89, rent at $1,531/month. There's not much to say about that beyond the obvious. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $91,461, which is above average. Fairly typical for a city this size. The definition of value.
653,833 residents · Massachusetts
Dive into Boston's numbers: cost index 205 (94 points above national average), rent $3,510/month, income $94,755, and a home price of $768,702. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 121, while Housing runs 205. As a major city with 653,833 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
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.
Austin (ranked #1) has a cost index of 89 and rent of $1,531/mo, while Boston (ranked #2) has a cost index of 205 and rent of $3,510/mo — a 116-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 Austin is $1,531/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $364 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Austin is $500,627, which is 5.5× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. 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.