20 Best Retirement Towns for Americans With $2 Million or More in Savings

Most retirees want to ride off into the sunset in a location that offers the perfect combination of affordability and quality of life. To determine which are the best cities in America to retire for those with $2 million or more in savings, GOBankingRates looked at retirement hot spots with a population of at least 20,000, a large percentage of residents age 65 or older, and a cost of living that allowed $2 million to last for at least 15 years. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Federal Reserve Economic Data, Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey and the Social Security Administration.

Here are some of the key findings GOBankingRates found in the data.

• The cities with the highest livability scores are Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Rocky River, Ohio.
• Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, is by far the most expensive city on the list and the only one with a monthly cost of living above $10,000. In fact, only one other city on the list, Fort Lee, even has a monthly cost of living above $7,500.
• Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is the most affordable city on the list, with a total monthly cost of living of just $3,605. It also has the most affordable homes, at an average price of $303,727.
• Sebastian, Florida, has the highest percentage of residents 65 or older at 36.5%.
• Florida has eight cities represented in the top 20 list, with no other state exceeding two.

And here are the 20 best retirement towns for Americans with $2 million or more in savings.

Also see the nine most popular wealthy retirement towns.

• Livability: 88/100
• Monthly cost of living: $7,505
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 25.0%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $67,642
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $1,014,632

• Livability: 88/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,111
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 24.1%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $26,917
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $403,761

• Livability: 85/100
• Monthly cost of living: $10,020
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 26.5%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $97,821
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $1,467,318

• Livability: 84/100
• Monthly cost of living: $5,999
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 25.3%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $49,578
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $743,674

Pictured: Evanston, Illinois

• Livability: 84/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,791
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 35.2%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $35,079
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $526,181

• Livability: 84/100
• Monthly cost of living: $3,653
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 29.4%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $21,427
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $321,400

Pictured: Dayton, Ohio

• Livability: 83/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,452
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 28.5%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $31,010
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $465,151

• Livability: 83/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,117
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 31.6%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $26,988
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $404,815

• Livability: 83/100
• Monthly cost of living: $3,941
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 36.5%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $24,882
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $373,234

• Livability: 83/100
• Monthly cost of living: $3,911
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 25.0%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $24,519
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $367,790

• Livability: 82/100
• Monthly cost of living: $7,461
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 25.7%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $67,122
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $1,006,837

• Livability: 82/100
• Monthly cost of living: $7,327
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 25.1%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $65,510
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $982,654

• Livability: 82/100
• Monthly cost of living: $5,017
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 27.8%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $37,794
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $566,915

• Livability: 82/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,348
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 26.7%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $29,760
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $446,395

• Livability: 82/100
• Monthly cost of living: $3,605
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 24.6%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $20,847
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $312,703

Pictured: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Livability: 81/100
• Monthly cost of living: $5,752
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 29.1%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $46,607
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $699,099

Pictured: Port St. Lucie, Florida

• Livability: 81/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,818
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 35.3%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $35,396
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $530,945

• Livability: 81/100
• Monthly cost of living: $4,148
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 26.8%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $27,362
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $410,435

• Livability: 81/100
• Monthly cost of living: $3,777
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 27.0%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $22,908
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $343,614

• Livability: 80/100
• Monthly cost of living: $5,915
• Percentage of population 65-plus: 24.7%
• Total annual cost of living with Social Security benefits: $48,567
• 15 years cost of living with Social Security benefits: $728,503

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed retirement towns across the United States to find the best cities for Americans with $2 million or more in savings. First, GOBankingRates found retirement hot spots by finding cities with a population of at least 20,000, then by selecting the 100 highest percentage of residents ages 65 and over. For each of the 100 cities, a number of factors were found, including total population, population ages 65 and over, total households, and household median income all sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. The average single-family home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index from June 2024, and for each home value, the average mortgage can be calculated by assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data. The cost of living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, and using the national average expenditure costs for retired residents as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average cost of expenditure can be calculated. The expenditure and mortgage costs can be used to find the total cost of living for each city. Assuming someone retires at 65 and lives to 80, the total cost of living for 15 years can be calculated. Using the Social Security Administration, the average Social Security benefits can be calculated. The total cost of living after Social Security benefits can be calculated for each year and for the entire 15 years. Cities with a 15-year cost of living over $2 million were removed for this study. The remaining cities were sorted to show the highest livability cities first, representing the best retirement cities to live in with $2 million in savings. All data was collected on and is up to date as of August 13, 2024.