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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Put it this way: the income-cost paradox: Denver pays $91,681 — 14% above the national median — while costing just 106 on the index. Only 40 of 288 tracked cities share this unusual profile. Here's the full 2-city ranking for 2026.
Put it this way: the income-cost paradox: Denver pays $91,681 — 14% above the national median — while costing just 106 on the index. Only 40 of 288 tracked cities share this unusual profile. Here's the full 2-city ranking for 2026.
Denver earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 106 cost index sits 5 points below the national baseline, and the $91,681 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $530,920 — $63,550 above the national median, reflecting the metro premium. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 101, while Housing trails at 106. If you've been scrolling through listings in high-cost metros and feeling defeated, look at these numbers again. Seriously. The difference between renting here and renting in a major coastal city could literally fund a retirement account. That's not hyperbole — run the math yourself. A thousand dollars a month saved, compounded over a decade, is a down payment on a house. In this city, that math actually works. Not flashy. Just effective.
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 (though the trend is moving in the right direction).
#1 Ranked: Denver, CO — cost index 106, rent $1,818/mo, income $91,681
Denver: 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
716,577 residents · Colorado
In plain English: the numbers for Denver are straightforward: 106 on the cost index, $1,818/month rent, $91,681 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. Fairly typical for a city this size.
482,295 residents · North Carolina
Put it this way: at $1,567/month for rent and a cost index of 92, Raleigh is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. And on balance, that alone makes it worth considering. Income is $82,424. That's more or less in line with the region.
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 106 and rent of $1,818/mo, while Raleigh (ranked #2) has a cost index of 92 and rent of $1,567/mo — a 14-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.