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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
In plain English: High income and low costs rarely coexist — but Austin pulls it off. At $91,461 median household income and a 89 cost index, residents enjoy purchasing power that 42% exceeds the national average. We found this pattern across 2 cities using 2026 data (not adjusted for inflation, but…
In plain English: High income and low costs rarely coexist — but Austin pulls it off. At $91,461 median household income and a 89 cost index, residents enjoy purchasing power that 42% exceeds the national average. We found this pattern across 2 cities using 2026 data (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling). The math checks out.
A closer look at Austin: the cost index of 89 breaks down to a Housing index of 89 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 98 (weakest). Median rent is $1,531/month — 19% below the national median — while household income sits at $91,461, meaning locals spend about 20% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
In plain English: 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: Austin, TX — cost index 89, rent $1,531/mo, income $91,461
Austin: 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
979,882 residents · Texas
In plain English: a closer look at Austin: the cost index of 89 breaks down to a Housing index of 89 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 98 (weakest). And as a general rule, median rent is $1,531/month — 19% below the national median — while household income sits at $91,461, meaning locals spend about 20% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
716,577 residents · Colorado
Frankly, Denver is one of the cheaper options here. You get the picture. Rent is $1,818/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 106. Income sits at $91,681. Moving on (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
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 Denver (ranked #2) has a cost index of 106 and rent of $1,818/mo — a 17-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.