15 Best Cities To Retire on $2,500 a Month

A new phase of life — retirement — can bring a new phase of lifestyle, too. If you’ve got the itch to pack up and go to a new city or new region as you retire, it’s important to know that your budget will cover your expenses and give you peace of mind.

When choosing where to live, it’s important to consider the cost of housing, groceries, healthcare and overall livability. To help in your decision making, GOBankingRates compiled a list of the 15 best cities to retire with a budget of $2,500 a month, presented here in reverse order.

• Population: 2,208
• Livability: 60
• Monthly mortgage: $421
• Monthly necessities: $1,789
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,211

Tiny Memphis is the first of five Texas locales to show up in the study. Memphis, about 90 miles from Amarillo, has a low average monthly mortgage of $421, but its monthly necessities cost ranks among the highest on the list.

• Population: 21,864
• Livability: 76
• Monthly mortgage: $864
• Monthly necessities: $1,624
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,488

Like Texas, Ohio comes out as an option where you can retire on $2,500 each month. Alliance is one of four Ohio cities that rank in the study. While it has the highest average monthly mortgage cost, the cost of monthly necessities  — the lowest on the list — helped Alliance to gain a spot in the 15 best cities to retire on $2,500 a month.

• Population: 44,114
• Livability: 76
• Monthly mortgage: $786
• Monthly necessities: $1,702
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,488

Altoona, a couple of hours east of Pittsburgh, is one of four cities on the list with a livability score of 76. The monthly expenditures are just a little higher in Altoona than they are in Alliance.

• Population: 18,122
• Livability: 76
• Monthly mortgage: $754
• Monthly necessities: $1,733
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,487

Steubenville, the second Ohio city in the study, has the same 76 livability marks as Alliance and slightly higher expenditures. When deciding where to retire in Ohio, the choice could come back to the nearby big cities. Would you rather live in Alliance, closer to Cleveland, or in Steubenville, which is nearer to Pittsburgh?

• Population: 3,092
• Livability: 59
• Monthly mortgage: $375
• Monthly necessities: $1,806
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,181

Nestled along the Mississippi River and just west of the Illinois border is Riverview, located in St. Louis County. While its average monthly mortgage cost is second lowest in the study, its livability score is rock bottom in comparison. That 59 livability mark is what’s keeping Riverview from moving up the list.

• Population: 1,099
• Livability: 61
• Monthly mortgage: $471
• Monthly necessities: $1,734
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,205

Amherst’s characteristics are similar to those of Riverview — an average monthly mortgage of less than $500 and a relatively low livability score. Like Riverview, it’s also tiny, with just about 1,100 people residing there.

• Population: 24,087
• Livability: 72
• Monthly mortgage: $631
• Monthly necessities: $1,764
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,395

Freeport, in the northwest corner of Illinois, offers retirees a place to live that falls just about in the middle of the list in terms of expenses. Its livability score of 72 is in the lower half of cities on the survey.

• Population: 374,861
• Livability: 70
• Monthly mortgage: $622
• Monthly necessities: $1,690
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,312

Cleveland is by far the largest city on the list, and living there would give retirees a lot of options of things to do. It’s one of four cities where the monthly necessities cost less than $1,700 a month.

• Population: 21,992
• Livability: 78
• Monthly mortgage: $780
• Monthly necessities: $1,656
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,436

In far western Pennsylvania, nestled near the Ohio border, is New Castle. It’s got a livability score of 78 and monthly necessities costs of less than $1,700, earning its spot on the list.

• Population: 156,803
• Livability: 63
• Monthly mortgage: $401
• Monthly necessities: $1,758
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,159

Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, is the second-largest city to appear in the study results, and it has the lowest monthly mortgage payment at $401. The negative is a lower livability score of 63.

• Population: 12,612
• Livability: 73
• Monthly mortgage: $526
• Monthly necessities: $1,751
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,276

Borger, another area near Amarillo, has the lowest total monthly expenditures of the cities in the top five of the 15 cities to retire on $2,500 a month list.

• Population: 18,647
• Livability: 78
• Monthly mortgage: $573
• Monthly necessities: $1,778
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,351

Another city west of Pittsburgh, Johnstown has a livability score of 78 and an average monthly mortgage payment of $573. The final of three Pennsylvania cities to rank in the study, Johnstown has the lowest total monthly expenditures of the trio.

• Population: 10,372
• Livability: 78
• Monthly mortgage: $553
• Monthly necessities: $1,791
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,344

The fourth Texas location on the list, Robstown, is a bedroom community west of Corpus Christi. Its livability score of 78, along with monthly mortgage cost of $553, can help retirees on a limited income achieve a comfortable life.

• Population: 16,817
• Livability: 76
• Monthly mortgage: $528
• Monthly necessities: $1,762
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,291

A low average monthly mortgage and a higher livability score helped Pampa, northeast of Amarillo, to achieve its spot as No. 2 of the 15 best places to retire on $2,500 a month.

• Population: 191,483
• Livability: 81
• Monthly mortgage: $699
• Monthly necessities: $1,662
• Total monthly expenditures: $2,361

Akron isn’t the least expensive place on the list, but it’s No. 1, largely due to its livability score of 81. That’s the highest score in the study.

Maddie Duley contributed to the reporting for this article.

Mothodology: To find the best cities to retire on $2,500 a month, GOBankingRates used a list of cities from the U.S. Census Bureau American Consumer Survey and, using data from Sperlings BestPlaces, the cost of living across many expenditure categories was calculated with the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey for people age 65 and older, giving the costs for each expenditure category for each city. Using the Zillow Home Value Index to find the average July 2023 home value for each city and the 30-year fixed national mortgage rate sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average monthly mortgage cost was calculated for each city. The mortgage cost and the expenditure costs were tallied to find the average total monthly costs. All cities with a total above $2,500 were removed, and for the remaining cities, the livability index was sourced from AreaVibes. The livability index and the total monthly cost were scored, with the livability index weighted at 1.5 and the total cost weighted at 1.0. The scores were combined and sorted to show the 15 best cities to retire on $2,500 a month. All data was collected and is up to date as of Sept. 13, 2023.

Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only. As a result, some of the photos might not reflect the locations listed in this article.

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