10 Best Places in the Southeast To Live On Only a Social Security Check

Social Security paid the average retiree $1,632 per month as of November 2022 — $3,264 for a couple. If the program’s benefits are your only source of income, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room in a country where the average person spends $1,954 a month on rent and $3,241 on monthly necessities.

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The good news for retirees on fixed incomes is that there are still some places where you can stretch your Social Security check far enough to get by — and many of those places are in the famously affordable Southeast.

To find out where they are, GOBankingRates used data from the Social Security Administration (SSA), Sperling’s Best and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the cities where the cost of living is low but the quality of life is high.

When reading, keep in mind that the average grocery bill is $4,497 per year ($374.75 per month) healthcare costs $7,030 ($585.83) and the average utility bill is $3,921 ($326.75).

If you’re planning to get by in retirement on Social Security alone, you’ll do best in these Southern cities.

• Average monthly rent: $1,570
• Monthly necessities: $2,980
• Livability score: 89

The total monthly spend for necessities in Madison is higher than in all nine of the other cities on this list. Groceries and utilities are actually a bit cheaper than average, but Social Security recipients will pay nearly 25% more for healthcare ($8,703 per year). The tradeoff is a livability score that’s nothing short of exceptional.

• Average monthly rent: $1,225
• Monthly necessities: $2,452
• Livability score: 72

Johnson City boasts one of the ranking’s three cheapest total monthly expenditures for necessities, but the tradeoff is the No. 2 lowest livability score on the list. Utilities, healthcare and groceries are all several percentage points lower than the national average.

• Average monthly rent: $1,625
• Monthly necessities: $2,934
• Livability score: 89

Only Madison residents pay more for necessities than those in Winter Haven — but Social Security recipients in both cities enjoy the same impressive livability score. In Winter Haven, they pay at or just a little above average in all three of the major categories. 

• Average monthly rent: $1,157
• Monthly necessities: $2,474
• Livability score: 73

Social Security recipients in Lafayette enjoy one of the three cheapest rents in this ranking. Healthcare there is pricey — the $672 monthly bill is nearly 15% more expensive than average. But the $287 monthly utility bill is more than 12% cheaper.

• Average monthly rent: $1,559
• Monthly necessities: $2,841
• Livability score: 86

The tradeoff for Brandon’s stellar livability score is one of the three highest monthly necessities expenditures on this list. The good news there is utilities run $307 per month, nearly 6% cheaper than the national average.

• Average monthly rent: $1,100
• Monthly necessities: $2,449
• Livability score: 73

Social Security beneficiaries will spend less on rent in Houma than anywhere else on this list — and at $287 per month, utilities are cheap, too. On the other side of the budget is healthcare, which is nearly 20% higher than average at a monthly cost of $699.

• Average monthly rent: $1,113
• Monthly necessities: $2,352
• Livability score: 70

Rent in Lake Charles is cheaper than any other city in the ranking except for Houma. On top of that, groceries are more than 7% cheaper there and utilities are more than 10% less than average. Although still considered excellent, its livability score is the lowest on the list.

• Average monthly rent: $1,234
• Monthly necessities: $2,434
• Livability score: 74

All of the big three categories are cheaper in Conway. The big winners are healthcare and utilities, both of which come in more than 8% less than the national average.

• Average monthly rent: $1,588
• Monthly necessities: $2,825
• Livability score: 92

Bentonville’s livability score is one of the best in America and the only one on this list above 90. Groceries and utilities are at or just under the national average, but healthcare costs are more than 8% lower.

• Average monthly rent: $1,281
• Monthly necessities: $2,501
• Livability score: 81

At $311 per month, utilities in Rogers are nearly 5% cheaper than average. The $539 monthly healthcare bill is more than 8% less and groceries are just below average at $370 per month, all with an excellent livability score.

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Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best cities in the Southeast (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) for a couple to live on only a Social Security check based on the average monthly benefit for retired workers, $1,632.04 ($3,2604 for a couple), sourced from Social Security Administration. GOBankingRates first isolated all cities in the Southeast with a 2022 average monthly rent under $1,632 and a size rank above 1,000. GOBankingRates then used Sperling’s Best to find the cost-of-living index for each listed city, looking at grocery and healthcare index scores. Next, GOBankingRates used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey to find the annual expenditure amount for both grocery (“food at home”) and healthcare costs for people aged 65 and older in order to find how much a couple 65 and over would spend on groceries and healthcare in each city on a monthly basis. GOBankingRates then added monthly housing, grocery and healthcare costs together to find where a couple 65 and older could survive on their Social Security or less. In order for a city to be qualified for the study, it 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 Jan. 4, 2023.