Retirement Cost of Living Ranked by State

[MRG]

Geeze all I have to do is move 30 miles South and save a bunch of money. Go figure.

[W2R]

Louisiana is #30. Not as low cost as I might have thought!

• Estimated annual retirement costs: $41,107
• Avg. annual earnings for 65+ households: $23,089 (14th lowest)
• Avg. annual homeownership costs for seniors: $12,252 (6th lowest)
• Pct. residents 65+: 14.9 percent (7th lowest)

I listed my home ownership costs at $5,734 in that other thread, but that did not include utilities and was for a paid off home. I should check to see how they computed that number. My present house, which I call my Dream Home, is a very nice house in a good location!!!

My overall spending in 2018, including taxes (which I never specify here), was considerably less than $41,107.

I really don't get it! Maybe I should pat myself on the back, look insufferably supercilious, and tell everybody how much more frugal I am than others here, but that really isn't true....

[Teacher Terry]

W2R, I think one reason your budget is low is because you don’t travel. We spend 10-14/year on it. We also go to a lot of plays, shows, festivals, etc which costs money. So that’s probably one difference.

[gstillson]

If you live in New Orleans, do you really *need* to travel?

I mean, the world comes to you.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer As someone who lives in Arkansas, I can tell you the number is either low or high depending on where in the state you live. NW Arkansas is expensive. Live in a rural area is cheap. I live in Conway, where there is a state university and 2 private colleges and cost is about what they quote but I live a bit on the high side of that. Real happening place and I couldn't touch it for the cost of living in most of the rest of the country. Lots of shows and lecturers brought in from around the country at the local theater and then small performances by students. Also a great place if you like to hunt/fish/hike/motorcycle and the bicycle trails are improving. So, stay away or you might raise my cost of living!

My first AF assignment out of tech school was for Little Rock AFB. I initially hated the idea, but when I realized it was only 8 hours drive from "home", I warmed up to the idea. Ultimately, I loved the assignment (6 years there) and enjoyed "cruising" up in Conway...there were *plenty* of young college gals for this young AF man to flirt with. Little Rock was great because it had much of the amenities of a larger city, but without the large population and traffic. Plus, there was fantastic outdoor activities that were very close by. Bottom line, if it was a little closer to DW's family...we would live there. Probably up in the NW part of the state though, since Little Rock has grown a little too much for me since I was there.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gstillson If you live in New Orleans, do you really *need* to travel? I mean, the world comes to you.

Same here in WV. If I want to see strange/different people and lifestyles, Walmart is only a few miles away....

[ckelly78z]

I can believe that Kentucky is #48 with lower sales tax, State taxes only above $31,000, and real estate taxes less than half of Ohio.

I can't believe that Ohio is listed that high #47 !

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Same here in WV. If I want to see strange/different people and lifestyles, Walmart is only a few miles away....

So true! There are some pretty strange/different people at our Walmart, too. If that isn't extreme enough, I know a few places in New Orleans that are extremely weird.

I just don't travel because I don't wanna. But seriously, I'd think that most retirees (other than forum members) really don't travel very much. I don't have any data to back that up, though.

[Nick12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gstillson If you live in New Orleans, do you really *need* to travel? I mean, the world comes to you.

You could have just easily described Florida. When the whole world visits Florida my family and I need a change of seasons and landscapes such as the Pacific Northwest or the mountains of GA,NC,TN and it is a refreshing feeling to vacation outside of Florida.

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum I wouldn't even begin to use something like this to decide where to live. Property taxes and real estate vary pretty widely within most states, for one thing. Just because you can come up with numbers for something like this doesn't make it meaningful.

I agree.

I relocated to the state with the oldest average age and the highest percentage of retirees.

This article says:
• Estimated annual retirement costs: $44,525
• Avg. annual earnings for 65+ households: $22,892 (12th lowest)
• Avg. annual homeownership costs for seniors: $14,220 (20th lowest)
• Pct. residents 65+: 20.0 percent (2nd highest)

I must argue with each of these statements. I make about $18,000 off my pension every year. From all the other retirees that I know here in our town, I am easily the most wealthy from among the group. Every other retiree that I know is supporting themselves on less money than I have, maybe more like 1/4 of what the article says.

[geezee1957]

So our 3 kids and two grand kids are in Alaska. We are too now. Yes it is costlier than Montana where we lived all our lives before. It really depends what's important to you as to where you live.