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. Seattle proves it with a cost index of 134, 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. Seattle proves it with a cost index of 134, 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. Seattle (index 134, rent $2,187); Oklahoma City (index 89, rent $1,255). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Dive into Seattle's numbers: cost index 134 (22 points above national average), rent $2,187/month, income $121,984, and a home price of $848,869. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 123, while Housing runs 184. As a major city with 755,078 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
In plain English: If you only look at rent, it's perfect. Zoom out and it's complicated. In Seattle, the housing index sits at 184 — above average and worth factoring in.
Straight up: 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: Seattle, WA — cost index 134, rent $2,187/mo, income $121,984
1 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 | SeattleWA | 134 | $2,187 | Details |
| 2 | Oklahoma CityOK | 89 | $1,255 | Details |
755,078 residents · Washington
Dive into Seattle's numbers: cost index 134 (22 points above national average), rent $2,187/month, income $121,984, and a home price of $848,869. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 123, while Housing runs 184. As a major city with 755,078 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
702,767 residents · Oklahoma
What does daily life actually cost in Oklahoma City? Start with the 23% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Housing (index 73) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 92) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $66,702 and homes at $203,329 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
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.
Seattle (ranked #1) has a cost index of 134 and rent of $2,187/mo, while Oklahoma City (ranked #2) has a cost index of 89 and rent of $1,255/mo — a 45-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 Seattle is $2,187/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $292 above the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Seattle is $848,869, which is 7.0× 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.