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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. Los Angeles (index 160, rent $2,742/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. Los Angeles (index 160, rent $2,742/mo) carves out real savings within a high-cost market. We analyzed 2 cities to find where your money goes furthest in 2026.
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 — we had to double-check this one — , rent $2,742); Houston (index 90, rent $1,542). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Straight up: Why Los Angeles ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 160 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 49% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,742/month while the median household pulls in $80,366/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 112, though Housing (160) lags behind. Home prices average $941,985 — $474,615 above the national median.
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.
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 (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
#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 | HoustonTX | 90 | $1,542 | Details |
3,820,914 residents · California
Why Los Angeles ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. At 160 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 49% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,742/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — while the median household pulls in $80,366/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 112, though Housing (160) lags behind. Home prices average $941,985 — $474,615 above the national median.
2,314,157 residents · Texas
Dive into Houston's numbers: cost index 90 — for better or worse — (21 points below national average), rent $1,542/month, income $62,894, and a home price of $261,976. And most of the time, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 90, while Healthcare runs 98. As a major city with 2,314,157 residents, amenities and job markets are robust (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
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 Houston (ranked #2) has a cost index of 90 and rent of $1,542/mo — a 70-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.