8 Affordable Small Cities To Retire in the Midwest

When considering potential retirement locations, there are many complexities to weigh and balance against one another — locations, cost of living, crime rates, real estate prices, quality of live and livability. To help future retirees make this all-important decision, GOBankingRates recently compiled data analyzing all of the above and more to create a list of the 44 best small cities to retire in across the United States.

However, some future retirees may already know where they want to settle down — the old-fashioned and bucolic small towns and cities of the American Midwest. So GOBankingRates culled the eight most affordable small cities in the Midwest — the locations that would be the best places to invest your retirement funds and Social Security checks, and spend your golden years.

From the flatlands of Kansas to the plains of Missouri, from the lakes of Michigan to the cornfields of Illinois, keep reading if you’re looking for a future retirement in the Midwest.

• Monthly expenditures: $1,771
• Average rent: $1,039
• Livability: 87

• Monthly expenditures: $1,763
• Average rent: $1,492
• Livability: 81

• Monthly expenditures: $1,776
• Average rent: $1,557
• Livability: 83

• Monthly expenditures: $1,838
• Average rent: $1,545
• Livability: 86

• Monthly expenditures: $1,767
• Average rent: $1,650
• Livability: 83

• Monthly expenditures: $1,950
• Average rent: $1,680
• Livability: 84

• Monthly expenditures: $1,836
• Average rent: $1,825
• Livability: 84

• Monthly expenditures: $1,802
• Average rent: $2,383
• Livability: 85

Methodology: GOBankingRates found all towns with populations between 1,000 and 10,000 residents, as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, along with the total households and median household income. The average rental cost was sourced from Zillow Observed Rental Index. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces. Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for Retired Residents, the average expenditure cost was calculated for each city. The expenditure cost was added to the rental cost to find the monthly total cost of living. Using the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer, the number of reported crimes for each city was found and the crime rate per 1,000 residents was calculated. The livability index was found from AreaVibes. All cities with data missing from any source were removed and the remaining 200 cities were scored. The household median income was scored and weighted at 1.00, the expenditure cost was scored and weighted at 1.25, the rent cost was scored and weighted at 1.25, the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00, and the crime rate was scored and weighted at 1.00. All of the scores were summed and sorted to show the best small towns to retire in America. All data was collected on and is up to date as of April 8, 2024.