Home is where the heart is — but make sure you can pay for it in retirement.
Social Security stretches further in some places than others, SmartAsset found in a recent analysis.
To compile its rankings of where Social Security goes furthest, SmartAsset subtracted the cost of basic necessities like housing, food and transportation from the average income folks receive from Social Security after taxes. The rankings include 3,129 municipalities across the U.S.
If you want to do your own math, start with SmartAsset’s Social Security Calculator, which will estimate what your Social Security payments will be.
Thanks to data provided by SmartAsset, we took a look at the towns, cities and counties where your Social Security checks will cover the smallest percentage of your cost of living.
Scroll through our slideshow to see where people’s Social Security income is stretched the thinnest.
15. Manassas, Virginia
Typical annual cost of living: $30,626
Average annual Social Security income: $19,012
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $11,614
Residents of Manassas, home to the first major land battle of the Civil War, are fighting a cost of living that is 58% higher than Dallas’, 44% higher than Miami’s and 41% higher than Chicago’s, according to Salary.com.
14. Arlington, Virginia
Typical annual cost of living: $31,895
Average annual Social Security income: $20,235
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $11,660
The birthplace of Katie Couric and Sandra Bullock wasn’t spared the ravages of inflation in 2022. Overall prices in the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area increased 7.5% from July 2021 to July 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cost of food consumed at home rose a record 12.4%, and medical care prices increased 8.8%, the highest 12-month increase in over 14 years.
13. Santa Clara, California
Typical annual cost of living: $33,468
Average annual Social Security income: $21,675
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $11,793
Amid Silicon Valley giants such as Apple and Alphabet, it’s easy to understand why Santa Clara residents can get squeezed by ever-increasing costs.
12. Falls Church, Virginia
Typical annual cost of living: $32,003
Average annual Social Security income: $20,153
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $11,850
It’s one of “The 10 Most Livable Small Towns in America,” but this quaint city of less than 15,000 isn’t cheap for retirees relying on Social Security.
11. Bethel, Alaska
Typical annual cost of living: $25,750
Average annual Social Security income: $13,799
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $11,951
Because of the high cost of shipping goods to Alaska, Bethel residents can get quite the sticker shock when purchasing basics. Numbeo, a crowd-sourced database of prices around the world, estimates a gallon of milk here can cost $8.80 and a loaf of bread $6.
10. Prince George’s County, Maryland
Typical annual cost of living: $30,742
Average annual Social Security income: $18,441
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $12,301
Residents in Maryland’s second-most populous county, which borders Washington, D.C., had to pay 8.8% more for medical care, 12.4% more for food consumed at home and 5.7% more for housing in July 2022 compared with July 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, prices rose 7.5%.
9. Queens, New York
Typical annual cost of living: $31,023
Average annual Social Security income: $18,629
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $12,394
Despite being part of one of the most expensive cities in the world, renting in the New York City borough of Queens can be significantly cheaper than in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Data analytics company GBSN Research calculates that renting in Queens can be hundreds of dollars to more than $1,000 cheaper than in those other boroughs.
8. New York City
Typical annual cost of living: $31,504
Average annual Social Security income: $19,076
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $12,428
The Consumer Price Index, a measure of overall price inflation, rose 6.5% from July 2021 to July 2022 in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Food prices increased 10.2%, and fuels and utility prices went up 17.3% over that period.
7. Manassas Park, Virginia
Typical annual cost of living: $31,071
Average annual Social Security income: $17,916
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $13,155
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fuel prices have taken a bite out of residents in the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area, which includes Manassas Park. Gasoline prices increased 48% and natural gas costs went up 22% from July 2021 to July 2022.
6. Kings County, New York (Brooklyn)
Typical annual cost of living: $30,578
Average annual Social Security income: $17,229
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $13,349
Retirees in Brooklyn — like other New Yorkers — have been hit hard in their pocketbooks recently. Between July 2021 and July 2022, food and beverage prices increased by nearly 10%, household energy costs went up 19.5%, and gasoline prices skyrocketed 46%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
5. Washington, D.C.
Typical annual cost of living: $30,967
Average annual Social Security income: $17,174
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $13,793
It’s not cheap to live in the seat of the U.S. government. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, shelter prices increased 4.4% here from July 2021 to July 2022, the highest rise since 2007, and the cost of electricity saw its biggest annual increase since 2009, 11%.
4. Marin County, California
Typical annual cost of living: $36,956
Average annual Social Security income: $22,960
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $13,996
Marin County may be one of the most beautiful areas of the Golden State, but you’ll pay the price for it. State and local taxes there are among the highest in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.
3. Bronx, New York
Typical annual cost of living: $29,859
Average annual Social Security income: $15,464
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $14,395
The Bronx is one of the more affordable New York City boroughs to live in, according to GBSN Research, but that’s relative.
2. San Mateo, California
Typical annual cost of living: $37,624
Average annual Social Security income: $22,287
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $15,337
Even seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady would find his birthplace expensive. San Mateo’s cost of living is 100% higher than the national average, and housing prices are a stunning 255% higher, according to Payscale.
1. San Francisco, California
Typical annual cost of living: $36,553
Average annual Social Security income: $18,567
Expenses Social Security won’t cover: $17,986
Prices in the San Francisco area increased 6.8% from June 2021 to June 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. Food prices rose 10.8% and fuels and utilities cost 15.8% more over that period.
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