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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: these cities aren't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Denver proves it with a cost index of 113, and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
Let's be honest: these cities aren't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Denver proves it with a cost index of 113, and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
The #1 spot goes to Denver, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,818/month — saving renters $924 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 104, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 133. At a 24% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Worth noting: The national baseline: 112 cost index, $1,895/month rent, $80,367 household income. That's the yardstick. The cities ranked here complicate that picture in ways that matter for anyone actually planning a move.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And as a general rule, 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 (that's pre-tax, of course).
#1 Ranked: Denver, CO — cost index 113, rent $1,818/mo, income $91,681
1 of 2 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
716,577 residents · Colorado
The #1 spot goes to Denver, and the breakdown explains why. That alone makes it worth considering. Renters here pay $1,818/month — saving renters $924 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 104, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 133. At a 24% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
510,823 residents · Georgia
Dive into Atlanta's numbers: cost index 108 (4 points below national average), rent $1,888/month, income $81,938, and a home price of $381,549. And for many people, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 99, while Housing runs 119. As a major city with 510,823 residents, amenities and job markets are robust. Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
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.
Denver (ranked #1) has a cost index of 113 and rent of $1,818/mo, while Atlanta (ranked #2) has a cost index of 108 and rent of $1,888/mo — a 5-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 Denver is $1,818/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $77 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Denver is $530,920, which is 5.8× 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.