18 hours Ago By GOBankingRates
GOBankingRates recently studied U.S. cities to find the top places to retire on a budget of no more than $3,000 per month.
Check Out: America’s 50 Most Expensive Retirement Towns Learn More: Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck If you are looking to retire in Texas, the study discovered eight livable cities for $3,000 or less. Also see the average amount you need saved to retire in every state. Robstown, Texas Also See: These Are America’s 50 Fastest-Growing Retirement Hot Spots Discover More: 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You’re Retiring in 2025 Brownsville, Texas Explore More: America’s 30 Safest and Wealthiest Retirement Towns Sonora, Texas Eastland, Texas Dumas, Texas Find Out: 21 Affordable Small Cities To Retire on the East Coast Sundown, Texas Pampa, Texas Seymour, Texas Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.
For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities across the United States to find the best places to retire for under $3,000 a month. First GOBankingRates used the U.S.
Census American Community Survey to find cities and basic information including total population, total households, household median income and population ages 65+. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and include the grocery, healthcare, housing, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous cost of living. Using the cost of living indexes and the national average expenditure costs, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure cost for each location was calculated.
The average single-family home value and the average rental cost was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Value Index for December 2024. Using the average home value, assuming a 10% down payment, and using the most recent national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage was calculated. Using the average mortgage, average rental costs and average expenditure costs, the average cost of living for homeowners and renters was calculated.
Livability indexes were sourced from AreaVibes and included to determine the quality of life for each location. The average Social Security benefits were sourced from the Social Security Administration and used to calculated the cost of living for homeowners and renters after Social Security. The cities were sorted to show the highest livability locations first.
All data was collected on and is up to date as of Jan. 30, 2025..
