7 Cities in the Northeast To Retire on $3,000 a Month

Many retirees seek something new for the next phase of life, maybe a change of scenery, a new adventure, or a place close to children and grandchildren. And if they don’t have a huge retirement savings account, they likely will seek a place where they can live within a budget.

For those looking to live in the Northeast during their golden years, GOBankingRates has identified seven cities where a retired couple can live on a budget of $3,000 a month. For this study, only cities in with a livability score of at least 70 out of 100 and where the 2023 average rent totaled $1,900 per month or less were considered, and then the cost of other necessities was factored in to come up with the seven cities where a couple can live on a $3,000 monthly budget.

And they all landed in one state. Here’s a look at the best cities in the Northeast to retire on a $3,000 budget.

• Livability Score: 72
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $1,219
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $407.75
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $679.86
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $354.77
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: $325.83
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,987.55

Perhaps the proximity to Philadelphia — about 90 miles southeast — led Lebanon to have higher costs than other cities on the list. Its monthly rent is the highest of the cities in the survey, and the costs of groceries, healthcare and utilities all are above the national average. Still, the monthly necessities cost per couple squeaks in below the $3,000 threshold — with a $10 bill and some change to spare.

• Livability Score: 74
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $1,128
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $416.54
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $680.49
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $345.59
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: 301.11$
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,872.06

Smack in the middle of the southern part of Pennsylvania sits Chambersburg, and it provides a slightly cheaper alternative to Lebanon. Rent is $85 less a month, but groceries and healthcare still will run a couple above the national average cost.

• Livability Score: 75
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $1,113
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $382.16
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $596.29
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $354.77
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: $329.95
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,775.82

Tucked into the northeastern part of Pennsylvania is Wilkes-Barre, where the price of groceries and healthcare each cost about 5% less than the national average. Only utilities cost more than the national average, and that’s just by a smidgen.

• Livability Score: 85
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $1,192
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $386.16
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $617.65
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $349.12
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: $360.43
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,905.83

If Wilkes-Barre isn’t to your liking, head about 20 miles northwest on Interstate 81 to Scranton. The cost of rent is a bit more than in Wilkes-Barre, but healthcare comes in lower. The biggest difference, and where Scranton gets the nod, is in livability. At 85, Scranton has the highest livability score on the list.

• Livability Score: 76
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $901
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $389.36
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $553.56
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $345.23
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: $339.42
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,528.33

Altoona is the first of three Pennsylvania cities to fall below the $1,000 mark for rent, and it has the lowest healthcare cost of the studied cities. A livability score higher than 76 would have vaulted Altoona higher on the list.

• Livability Score: 78
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $797
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $372.97
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $635.25
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $346.65
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: $348.07
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,499.64

Johnstown is the only city in the survey with monthly rent below $800, and its livability score isn’t bad, either. Grocery costs come in the lowest of the seven cities, with healthcare costs a dot over the national average.

• Livability Score: 83
• 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $987
• Monthly Grocery Cost Per Couple: $375.37
• Monthly Healthcare Cost Per Couple: $567.39
• Monthly Utilities Cost Per Couple: $336.06
• Monthly Transportation Cost Per Couple: $340.24
• Monthly Necessities Cost Per Couple: $2,605.81

Rent in Erie is below $1,000, and the city has the lowest cost of healthcare and utilities and the second lowest for groceries — plus a high livability mark. Erie is in the western part of Pennsylvania where Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York converge, and its location gives retirees access to cultural events and professional sports in bigger cities. From Erie, it’s about a 100-mile drive in either direction to Cleveland, Ohio, or Buffalo, New York.

Gabrielle Olya contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best cities in the Northeast (ME, NH, VT, PA, NY, RI, CT, NJ and MA) for a couple to retire on $3,000 a month. GOBankingRates first isolated all cities in the Northeast with a 2023 average monthly rent under $1,900 and a size rank below 1,000. GOBankingRates then used Sperling’s Best to find the cost-of-living index for each listed city, looking at grocery, utilities, transportation and healthcare index scores. Next, GOBankingRates used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey to find the annual expenditure amount for both grocery (“food at home”), utilities, healthcar, and transportation costs for people aged 65 and older to find how much a couple 65 and over would spend on necessities in each city on a monthly basis. GOBankingRates then added monthly housing, grocery, utilities, transportation and healthcare costs together to find where a couple 65 and older could survive on $3,000 a month. For a city to be qualified for the study, the city had to have a livability score above 70 as sourced from AreaVibes. GOBankingRates scored and combined both livability and monthly necessities expenditure, with the lowest score being best, to determine final rankings. All data was collected and is up to date as of Sept. 12, 2023.

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