Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
These cities are a genuine bargain: 2 of the 2 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Austin leads at an index of 89 with rent at just $1,531/month — 19% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
These cities are a genuine bargain: 2 of the 2 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Austin leads at an index of 89 with rent at just $1,531/month — 19% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
A closer look at Austin: the cost index of 89 — for better or worse — 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).
The ranking uses a composite of 2026 data from Census Bureau population/income surveys, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary benchmarks, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Austin (index 89, rent $1,531); Mesa (index 91, rent $1,554). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Digging deeper, The national baseline: 111 cost index, $1,895/month rent, $80,367 household income. That's the yardstick. The cities ranked here blow past it — starting with Austin at just 89 on the index.
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
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
Why Austin ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. Standard stuff, really. At 89 on the cost index, residents save roughly 22% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,531/month while the median household pulls in $91,461/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 89, though Healthcare (98) lags behind. Home prices average $500,627 — $33,257 above the national median (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
511,648 residents · Arizona
Here's Mesa by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 91. Rent: $1,554/month. Income: $78,779/year. Home price: $432,764. Population: 511,648. The strongest category is Housing at 91; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,092 per year vs. the national median. Over thirty years of homeownership, the property tax savings alone are staggering.
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 Mesa (ranked #2) has a cost index of 91 and rent of $1,554/mo — a 2-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.