If you’re like most people facing retirement, you’re working with a limited budget. Even so, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for living out your golden years in a less-than-desirable locale just to make ends meet.
Retirement should be about enjoying your life with minimal stress and spending some time in an environment you find pleasing. To do that on a budget, though, you’ll need to choose a retirement destination that’s not only affordable but also features a high quality of life with a low cost of living. To assist you in your relocation plans, GOBankingRates looked at hundreds of U.S. cities to find the cheapest places to retire that feature favorable weather.
To rank in the study, each city had to meet the following requirements: More than 12% of the population had to be 65 or older in age, the total monthly expenditure dollar amount — including rent — had to be under $9,000 and the average livability score had to fall higher than 60.
Check out these beautiful places to retire that won’t stretch your bank account.
Cannon Beach, Oregon
- Total population: 1,311
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 25.71%
- Livability score: 79
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $7,760
Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Total population: 86,935
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 23.8%
- Livability score: 77
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $5,300
Whitefish, Montana
- Total population: 7,783
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 18.72%
- Livability score: 82
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $7,042
Marfa, Texas
- Total population: 1,838
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 25.68%
- Livability score: 74
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $3,610
Stowe, Vermont
- Total population: 823
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 63.30%
- Livability score: 61
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $8,671
Leavenworth, Washington
- Total population: 2,395
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.20%
- Livability score: 84
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $6,214
San Antonio
- Total population: 1,434,540
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 12.52%
- Livability score: 82
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $3,407
Portland, Maine
- Total population: 68,063
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.33%
- Livability score: 83
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $5,085
Seward, Arkansas
- Total population: 2,614
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.61%
- Livability score: 82
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $4,158
Las Vegas
- Total population: 634,786
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.83%
- Livability score: 83
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $4,529
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
- Total population: 292
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 37.33%
- Livability score: 71
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $4,379
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Total population: 53,189
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 18.5%
- Livability score: 82
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $5,160
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Total population: 21,897
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 20.32%
- Livability score: 86
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $6,416
St. Augustine, Florida
- Total population: 13,994
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 26.65%
- Livability score: 85
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $4,697
Naples, Florida
- Total population: 19,187
- Percentage of population 65 and older: 52.91%
- Livability score: 79
- Total monthly expenditures including rent: $6,270
Jordan Rosenfeld and Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: To find the most beautiful and cheap places to retire, GOBankingRates analyzed cities across the United States that are considered the most beautiful, sourced from Forbes’s Most Beautiful Cities, CNTraveler’s Most Beautiful Towns in America, and RoamingTheUSA’s Most Beautiful Cities in the USA. For each city on the list, the cost of living across multiple expenditure categories was found, including [1] Grocery cost of living index, [2] Healthcare cost of living index, [3] Utilities cost of living index, [4] Transportation cost of living index, [5] Miscellaneous cost of living index, all sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces. The cost of living indexes were multiplied by the national averages for each expenditure category as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey, giving an average expenditure cost for each category for each city. For each city, the average home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index, and using the current National 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage sourced from Federal Reserve Economic Research, the average mortgage cost for each city was determined. The total monthly expenditure cost and the average monthly mortgage can be totaled to find the total monthly cost for each city. The total population and the population of 65 and over was also included, as sourced from the U.S. Census American Consumer Survey. The population 65 and over was scored and weighted at 1.00, the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.25, and the total monthly cost was scored and weighted at 1.25. All scores were summed and sorted to show the cities that are the cheapest and most beautiful places to retire. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of Sept. 28th, 2023.
Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only. As a result, some of the photos might not reflect the locations listed in this article.
More From GOBankingRates