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. Los Angeles proves it with a cost index of 160, 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. Los Angeles proves it with a cost index of 160, and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
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. Los Angeles (index 160, rent $2,742); Dallas (index 93, rent $1,591). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Here's Los Angeles by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 160. Rent: $2,742/month. That alone makes it worth considering. Income: $80,366/year. Home price: $941,985. Population: 3,820,914. The strongest category is Healthcare at 112; the most expensive is Housing at 160. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $10,164 more per year vs. the national median. This is the type of edge you don't see advertised.
It checks most boxes — but the housing costs are the asterisk. In Los Angeles, the housing index sits at 160 — above average and worth factoring in (which, to be fair, is a metric that favors smaller cities).
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: Los Angeles, CA — cost index 160, rent $2,742/mo, income $80,366
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 | Los AngelesCA | 160 | $2,742 | Details |
| 2 | DallasTX | 93 | $1,591 | Details |
3,820,914 residents · California
A closer look at Los Angeles: the cost index of 160 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 112 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 160 (weakest). Median rent is $2,742/month — 45% above the national median — while household income sits at $80,366, meaning locals spend about 41% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
1,302,868 residents · Texas
Real talk: Here's Dallas by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 93. Rent: $1,591/month. Income: $67,760/year. Home price: $305,523. Population: 1,302,868. The strongest category is Housing at 93; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,648 per year vs. the national median. For freelancers and gig workers with variable income, this cushion is everything.
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.
Los Angeles (ranked #1) has a cost index of 160 and rent of $2,742/mo, while Dallas (ranked #2) has a cost index of 93 and rent of $1,591/mo — a 67-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 Los Angeles is $2,742/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $847 above the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Los Angeles is $941,985, which is 11.7× 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.