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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices here — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. Las Vegas (index 106 — worth pausing on — , rent $1,695/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 2 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026.
Nobody expects rock-bottom prices here — but that doesn't mean all cities are equally expensive. Las Vegas (index 106 — worth pausing on — , rent $1,695/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 2 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026.
Why Las Vegas ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 106 on the cost index, residents save roughly 6% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,695/month — for better or worse — while the median household pulls in $70,723/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 98, though Housing (116) lags behind. Home prices average $422,842 — $44,528 below the national median (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling). That's not nothing.
(Tangentially — this is the kind of city where you can actually build equity on a median salary, which is increasingly rare.) (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
None of this exists in a vacuum, though. The national baseline: 112 cost index, $1,895/month rent, $80,367 household income. That's the yardstick. The cities ranked here blow past it — starting with Las Vegas at just 106 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: Las Vegas, NV — cost index 106, rent $1,695/mo, income $70,723
2 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
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las VegasNV | 106 | $1,695 | Details |
| 2 | MesaAZ | 105 | $1,554 | Details |
660,929 residents · Nevada
Las Vegas earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. And more often than not, the 106 cost index sits 6 points below the national baseline, and the $70,723 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $422,842 — $44,528 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 98, while Housing trails at 116.
511,648 residents · Arizona
Dive into Mesa's numbers: cost index 105 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (7 points below national average), rent $1,554/month, income $78,779, and a home price of $432,764. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 96, while Housing runs 112. As a major city with 511,648 residents, amenities and job markets are robust (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
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.
Las Vegas (ranked #1) has a cost index of 106 and rent of $1,695/mo, while Mesa (ranked #2) has a cost index of 105 and rent of $1,554/mo — a 1-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 Las Vegas is $1,695/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $200 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Las Vegas is $422,842, which is 6.0× 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.