Loading
Assembling your view…
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. Houston proves it with a cost index of 90 — and yes, that's adjusted for the region — , and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in a…
Let's be honest: these cities aren't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Houston proves it with a cost index of 90 — and yes, that's adjusted for the region — , and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
Houston comes in at #1. Rent is $1,542 a month. Household income is $62,894. The cost of living index is 90. Fairly typical for a city this size. Hard to argue with that.
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. And with some exceptions, houston (index 90 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — , rent $1,542); Sacramento (index 117, rent $2,006). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons (your mileage may vary — literally).
Quietly competitive.
In plain English: If the first stat impressed you, this one grounds it. 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. Fairly typical for a city this size. The delta here is big enough to fund a retirement account.
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. And most of the time, 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. It's fine. Not great, not bad. The data is here; the decision is yours (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling). An outlier in the best sense.
#1 Ranked: Houston, TX — cost index 90, rent $1,542/mo, income $62,894
1 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
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HoustonTX | 90 | $1,542 | Details |
| 2 | SacramentoCA | 117 | $2,006 | Details |
2,314,157 residents · Texas
Why Houston ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. And most of the time, take it or leave it — the data is what it is. At 90 on the cost index, residents save roughly 21% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,542/month — and that's before you even look at taxes — while the median household pulls in $62,894/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 90, though Healthcare (98) lags behind. Home prices average $261,976 — $205,394 below the national median.
526,384 residents · California
Why Sacramento ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 117 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 6% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,006/month while the median household pulls in $83,753/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 103, though Housing (117) lags behind. Home prices average $472,863 — $5,493 above the national median.
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.
Houston (ranked #1) has a cost index of 90 and rent of $1,542/mo, while Sacramento (ranked #2) has a cost index of 117 and rent of $2,006/mo — a 27-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 Houston is $1,542/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $353 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Houston is $261,976, which is 4.2× 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.