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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 2 of 2 cities beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. And in most cases, phoenix stands out at 91 on the index, with rent of $1,556/month and household income of $77,041. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
The numbers are clear: 2 of 2 cities beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. And in most cases, phoenix stands out at 91 on the index, with rent of $1,556/month and household income of $77,041. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
Phoenix is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,556/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 91. Income sits at $77,041. It's fine. Not great, not bad.
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. 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. The data is here; the decision is yours (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
#1 Ranked: Phoenix, AZ — cost index 91, rent $1,556/mo, income $77,041
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
1,650,070 residents · Arizona
A closer look at Phoenix: the cost index of 91 breaks down to a Housing index of 91 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 98 (weakest). Median rent is $1,556/month — 18% below the national median — while household income sits at $77,041, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That tracks. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
618,639 residents · Tennessee
Memphis is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,234/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 72. Income sits at $51,211. There's not much to say about that beyond the obvious.
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.
Phoenix (ranked #1) has a cost index of 91 and rent of $1,556/mo, while Memphis (ranked #2) has a cost index of 72 and rent of $1,234/mo — a 19-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 Phoenix is $1,556/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $339 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Phoenix is $407,665, which is 5.3× 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.