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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 2 of 2 cities beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Dallas stands out at 93 on the index, with rent of $1,591/month and household income of $67,760. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
The numbers are clear: 2 of 2 cities beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Dallas stands out at 93 on the index, with rent of $1,591/month and household income of $67,760. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
What does daily life actually cost in Dallas? Start with the 28% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Housing (index 93) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 99) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $67,760 and homes at $305,523 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
The other side of the coin: 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 stands out as genuinely impressive.
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: Dallas, TX — cost index 93, rent $1,591/mo, income $67,760
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
1,302,868 residents · Texas
No sugarcoating: the numbers for Dallas are straightforward: 93 on the cost index, $1,591/month rent, $67,760 income. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. It lines up with what you'd expect.
979,882 residents · Texas
In plain English: What does daily life actually cost in Austin? Start with the 20% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Housing (index 89) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 98) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $91,461 and homes at $500,627 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
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.
Dallas (ranked #1) has a cost index of 93 and rent of $1,591/mo, while Austin (ranked #2) has a cost index of 89 and rent of $1,531/mo — a 4-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 Dallas is $1,591/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $304 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Dallas is $305,523, 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.
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.