20 Best Cities for Retired Renters on Budgets

Whether selling a house and downsizing or jumping from one lease to another, seniors on budgets who plan to rent their retirement homes have to choose their cities wisely.

To help them along, GOBankingRates analyzed the places where the average monthly Social Security check — $1,907 as of January — is enough to pay the average rent, as reported by Zillow. The study also factored in livability ratings from AreaVibes (higher scores closer to 100 are better) to weed out the cheap cities with a lower quality of life.

Additionally, the study used data from Sperling’s Best Places and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include average monthly expenditures and non-housing living costs.

Here are 20 cities where retirees should consider renting if they want to keep their landlord at bay with their Social Security check alone and still have a little left over.

As the CEO of investment rental property management software platform TurboTenant, Seamus Nally analyzes rental markets for a living. When he examined the following list of rent-friendly cities for retirees on a budget, he had no trouble recognizing their appeal.

“Each city is not a busy, highly populated metropolitan location,” Nally said. “That alone means that the cost of living is going to be on the lower end. For the most part, the bigger a city’s population, the more expensive it will be to live there, so renters on a tight budget should consider cities that are less highly populated. Rent prices will be lower, and people may be able to afford larger apartments or homes for lower prices, which is also quite beneficial. Retirees looking to stretch their fixed income out as much as possible should consider cities like these.”

• Population: 39,906
• Livability score: 89
• Average rent: $910.44
• Amount of benefits left over: $949.79
• Average monthly expenses: $1,720.33

• Population: 35,642
• Livability score: 81
• Average rent: $792.44
• Amount of benefits left over: $1,067.79
• Average monthly expenses: $1,611.93

• Population: 15,638
• Livability score: 86
• Average rent: $950
• Amount of benefits left over: $910.23
• Average monthly expenses: $1,740.37

• Population: 14,108
• Livability score: 80
• Average rent: $880
• Amount of benefits left over: $980.23
• Average monthly expenses: $1,544.38

• Population: 22,494
• Livability score: 88
• Average rent: $1,097.75
• Amount of benefits left over: $762.48
• Average monthly expenses: $1,758.41

• Population: 21,826
• Livability score: 82
• Average rent: $911.67
• Amount of benefits left over: $948.56
• Average monthly expenses: $1,671.13

• Population: 13,707
• Livability score: 91
• Average rent: $1,197.50
• Amount of benefits left over: $662.73
• Average monthly expenses: $1,859.58

• Population: 25,549
• Livability score: 84
• Average rent: $1,016.67
• Amount of benefits left over: $843.56
• Average monthly expenses: $1,690.72

• Population: 45,591
• Livability score: 89
• Average rent: $1,062.50
• Amount of benefits left over: $797.73
• Average monthly expenses: $1,893.82

• Population: 127,319
• Livability score: 84
• Average rent: $891.19
• Amount of benefits left over: $969.04
• Average monthly expenses: $1,839.44

• Population: 1,445,662
• Livability score: 81
• Average rent: $1,383.65
• Amount of benefits left over: $476.58
• Average monthly expenses: $1,802.65

• Population: 8,205
• Livability score: 86
• Average rent: $1,039.44
• Amount of benefits left over: $820.79
• Average monthly expenses: $1,781.00

• Population: 66,265
• Livability score: 91
• Average rent: $1,045.78
• Amount of benefits left over: $814.45
• Average monthly expenses: $2,034.88

• Population: 79,166
• Livability score: 90
• Average rent: $1,158.81
• Amount of benefits left over: $701.42
• Average monthly expenses: $1,909.68

• Population: 52,920
• Livability score: 87
• Average rent: $1,154.61
• Amount of benefits left over: $705.62
• Average monthly expenses: $1,816.30

• Population: 264,514
• Livability score: 83
• Average rent: $1,107.50
• Amount of benefits left over: $752.73
• Average monthly expenses: $1,748.08

• Population: 85
• Livability score: 4,407
• Average rent: $950
• Amount of benefits left over: $910.23
• Average monthly expenses: $1,867.43

• Population: 45,002
• Livability score: 87
• Average rent: $1,346.95
• Amount of benefits left over: $513.28
• Average monthly expenses: $1,683.67

• Population: 65,167
• Livability score: 81
• Average rent: $925.57
• Amount of benefits left over: $934.66
• Average monthly expenses: $1,745.17

• Population: 26,156
• Livability score: 77
• Average rent: $858.33
• Amount of benefits left over: $1,001.90
• Average monthly expenses: $1,600.78