When you’re ready to retire in the Midwest, you will want to get the most for your money, of course. Undoubtedly, you’ll want to find a place with a high livability score — meaning it fares well with traits like a low crime rate — and a place where you can both survive and thrive on a limited budget.
GOBankingRates looked at the cost of living in several Midwestern cities to determine where a retired person with $2,500 a month to spend on rent and other necessities — groceries, healthcare, utilities and transportation — could live. The result? Six cities in four states, each offering retirees a different experience.
Ready to find out which Midwest cities are the best for retirees living on $2,500 a month? Then read ahead, reader.
Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Livability Score: 80
- 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $866
- Monthly Grocery Cost: $371
- Monthly Healthcare Cost: $655
- Monthly Utilities Cost: $327
- Monthly Transportation Cost: $280
- Monthly Necessities Cost: $2,500
Groceries in Grand Forks cost less than any other city on the list and utilities and transportation are on the lower end of the cost spectrum. However, the comparably high prices for rent and healthcare meant Grand Forks barely made it onto this list of places to live for less than $2,500 each month. After paying for the necessities, you’ll have just pocket change left.
West Allis, Wisconsin
- Livability Score: 77
- 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $958
- Monthly Grocery Cost: $375
- Monthly Healthcare Cost: $586
- Monthly Utilities Cost: $98
- Monthly Transportation Cost: $405
- Monthly Necessities Cost: $2,421
Retirees in West Allis will pay the highest costs for rent, utilities and transportation among the cities in the study. However, healthcare costs rank in the lower end, allowing for a bit of breathing room in the $2,500 budget.
Youngstown, Ohio
- Livability Score: 80
- 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $872
- Monthly Grocery Cost: $365
- Monthly Healthcare Cost: $539
- Monthly Utilities Cost: $333
- Monthly Transportation Cost: $327
- Monthly Necessities Cost: $2,437
The rent in Youngstown is the second highest on the list, but utilities run the second lowest. Overall costs of monthly necessities are No. 3 on the list.
Mansfield, Ohio
- Livability Score: 76
- 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $772
- Monthly Grocery Cost: $378
- Monthly Healthcare Cost: $534
- Monthly Utilities Cost: $331
- Monthly Transportation Cost: $322
- Monthly Necessities Cost: $2,337
Mansfield, with an average monthly rent of $772, has the lowest cost of living at almost $2,337 per month. On the negative side, it has the lowest livability score in the study.
Fargo, North Dakota
- Livability Score: 85
- 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $804
- Monthly Grocery Cost: $398
- Monthly Healthcare Cost: $597
- Monthly Utilities Cost: $326
- Monthly Transportation Cost: $318
- Monthly Necessities Cost: $2,443
Fargo comes in below the national average in costs for groceries, healthcare, utilities and transportation, but it still has the second-highest monthly total costs of the six cities included on the list. A big number isn’t always bad, though. Fargo’s livability score of 85 tops the list.
Waterloo, Iowa
- Livability Score: 81
- 2023 Average Monthly Rent: $740
- Monthly Grocery Cost: $371
- Monthly Healthcare Cost: $658
- Monthly Utilities Cost: $320
- Monthly Transportation Cost: $265
- Monthly Necessities Cost: $2,355
Waterloo ranks lowest in the study in rent, utilities and transportation costs. The highest healthcare costs keep Waterloo from achieving the lowest monthly costs of necessities, instead ranking second to Mansfield — but not by much.
Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best cities in the Midwest (ND, SD, NE, KS, MO, I, MN, WI, IL, IN, OH, and MI) to retire on $2,500 or less a month by first isolating Midwest cities with a 2023 average monthly rent under $1,900 and a size rank below 1,000. GOBankingRates then used Sperling’s Best Places to find the cost of living index for each listed city, looking at grocery, healthcare, utilities and transportation index scores. Next, GOBankingRates used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey to find the annual expenditure amount for grocery (“food at home”), utilities, healthcare and transportation for people aged 65 and older in order 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 one could retire on $2,500 or less a month. In order for a city to be qualified for the study, the city had to have a livability score above 75, 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 on and is up to date as of Sept. 13, 2023.