Most Affordable Places to Retire

Finding an affordable place to retire is more important than ever. Just because you are retiring and have reduced income doesn't mean you have to have a reduced standard of living. If you select the right town in the right state your dollars can go further - so why  stay where you are and suffer? Note: See our 2011 Article: "10 Very Affordable, and Great, Places to Retire".

Topretirements used our free Retirement Ranger tool to select from our 450 town database, using the following criteria:
- Housing price less than $200,000 (the national median is about $170,000)
- Culture rating is "high" - at least 111 on the index system used at Topretirements
- Lowest 25 states in terms of Tax Burden (from the Tax Foundation)

Here are the top 20 results for the most affordable retirement towns in the US (that are also interesting places to live):

1. Fort Myers, FL $84,000
2. St. Petersburg, FL $120,000
3. Phoenix, AZ $132,000
4. Corpus Christi TX $133,000
5. Tampa FL $140,000
6. Aiken SC $140,000
7. Clearwater FL $142,000
8. Morgantown WV $142,000
9. Las Vegas, NV $142,000
10. Knoxville TN $145,00
11. Mesa AZ $145,000
12. Sioux Falls SD $146,000
13. Myrtle Beach SC $147,000
14. Pensacola FL $148,000
15. DallasFort Worth TX $150,000
16. Branson MO $150,000
17. Tallahassee FL $150,000
18. San Antonio TX $153,000
19. Clemson SC $155,000
20. Columbia MO $159,000

Al the towns making this list are relative bargains compared to many other best places to retire. They make interesting places to retire where there is plenty of culture and where there are nice neighborhoods to live in. That said, some people will find places on the list that are more or less appealing than others. The point is, if you are looking for an affordable place to retire that is also an interesting place to live, this list is a good place to start.