10 Greatest Small Towns For $2,300 Monthly Retirement
For many people, retirement is a period of austerity because, aside from Social Security and pension benefits, their income is typically meager. If you’re not tied to one place, you can relocate to one of the ten tiny towns on this list, or anywhere else where living is more affordable.
GOBankingRates used data from ApartmentList June 2022 to explore tiny communities with populations under 30,000 where you can retire on a $2,300 or less budget.
In addition, we utilized information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey along with Sperling’s Best to determine the cost of living index for each city on the list. After that, we combined the monthly expenses for housing, groceries, and healthcare to determine how much a person 65 and older might survive on $2,300.
The livability score of a city was also crucial; according to AreaVibes, a city had to score 65 or above to be included on this list. After all was said and done, the top three states were three.
10. Humble, Texas
- $984 is the average rent for one bedroom.
- Spending each month: $2,140
Approximately 15% of people in Humble are 65 years of age or older. And the monthly grocery and utility costs are just $336.67 and $305.48, respectively, here.
9. Texas’s Seabrook
- One-bedroom rental average: $1,119
- Spending each month: $2,290
The monthly expenses in Seabrook are over $400 lower than the average for the country. While healthcare costs make up a sizable portion of this budget ($513.44), other costs, such as $352.09 for groceries each month, are quite minimal.
8. Michigan’s Auburn Hills
- One-bedroom rental average: $1,058
- Spending each month: $2,157
Only $333.17 is spent on groceries each month in Auburn Hills, but $452.31 is spent on healthcare.
7. Minnesota’s Hopkins
- One-bedroom rental average: $1,105
- Spending each month: $2,204
Hopkins has affordable utility and healthcare costs, with monthly rates of $309.26 and $436.20, respectively, so your wages won’t be too severely stretched.
6. Texas’s Universal City
- One-bedroom rental average: $1,106
- Spending each month: $2,253
14.3% of people in Universal City are 65 years of age or older. The monthly expenses are reasonable, as the cost of groceries is $322.31 and utilities is $305.79.
5. Missouri’s Maryland Heights
- One-bedroom rental average: $999
- Spending each month: $2,148
With a monthly utility bill of $298.23, Maryland Heights has one of the lowest prices on the lists. At $342.98 a month, grocery expenses are also less than the national average.
4. Texas’s Tomball
- One-bedroom rental average: $1,072
- Spending each month: $2,236
In Tomball, 18.8% of people are 65 years of age or older. With monthly groceries costing $344.03 and monthly electricity costing $306.42, your salary goes a fair further in this situation.
3. Ohio’s Willoughby Hills
- $953 is the average rent for a one-bedroom.
- Spending each month: $2,055
Healthcare expenses in Willoughby Hills, where 18% of the population is over 65, are only $464.54 a month.
2. Ohio’s Parma Heights
- $889 is the average rent for a one-bedroom.
- Spending each month: $1,983
Of all the places on the list, Parma Heights boasts the lowest rent and the highest proportion of residents who are 65 and over (20%). Other costs are equally affordable. Your monthly utilities will be $297.28 and your monthly healthcare costs will be $457.87.
1. Michigan’s Farmington
- One-bedroom rental average: $982
- Monthly outlay of $2,091
On this list, Farmington is almost the most affordable location to live. Its livability score of 94 is excellent, and although while some of its costs are slightly higher than those of the second-place city, overall, living expenses here are over $600 less than the national average.