Yahoo Finance 10 Worst Places in Texas for a Couple To Live on Only a Social Security Check
There’s plenty of upside to retiring in Texas, even if you’re a couple living on just Social Security. There’s also some downside, especially if you don’t know where to look.
Perhaps you’re eyeing the Lone Star State for its affordability, retiree-friendly tax structure, vast beauty and culture, major metropolitan cities or smaller, tight-knit communities. Maybe you’re willing to look past potential drawbacks like extreme weather, high property taxes and areas with high crime rates.
See: 5 Places To Retire That Are Similar To Florida But Way Cheaper
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If you’re living on Social Security only, though — with the average benefit for couples coming in around $3,600 a month — there are places you should probably avoid. These cities, towns and census-designated places won’t just stretch or break your budget. They also score lower on livability than many other options.
GOBankingRates has compiled a top-10 list of these places, using data from the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census, Sperling’s Best and AreaVibes. Our full methodology is included at the end of this article.
You can read about the best places to retire in Texas on Social Security only here. But first, check out locales that don’t add up for a couple relying on just Social Security.
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10. Fresno
Average rent: $2,054
Average total monthly cost of living: $3,945
Livability score: 60
This unincorporated community offers easy access to Houston, which it borders to the south. Fresno’s average monthly cost of living for couples is the lowest on our list, but still a stretch for retired couples on a tight budget. Its population has steadily increased throughout this century, however, and currently stands at about 25,000.
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9. Bee Cave
Average rent: $2,268
Average total monthly cost of living: $4,104
Livability score: 67
Bee Cave is located about 15 miles west of Austin, the state capital. It is a popular day trip from there, featuring shopping, dining, golf courses, the Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center and the Bee Cave Sculpture Park. Its sub-70 livability score and relatively high cost of living mean it’s not a great match for most Social Security-only couples, however. About 10,000 people live here, up from just a few hundred in the early 2000s.
8. Cross Roads
Average rent: $2,154
Average total monthly cost of living: $3,997
Livability score: 62
Cross Roads offers the lowest average monthly rent on our list, but overall it’s still a budget-stretcher on just Social Security. Located about an hour north of Dallas by car, Cross Roads is a small town of about 1,800 residents. It brands itself as a “21st Century Texas Country Community.”
7. Haslet
Average rent: $2,265
Average total monthly cost of living: $4,158
Livability score: 69
Haslet is a small, quiet but fast-growing suburb of Fort Worth, which is located just to the south. It’s less expensive than some other Fort Worth and Dallas suburbs, but an average cost of living over $4,000 still puts it out of reach for many couples on tight budgets. Most cost indexes for Haslet are close to national averages, but transportation comes in about 24% higher at about $510 a month.
6. Timberwood Park
Average rent: $2,420
Average total monthly cost of living: $4,192
Livability score: 65
Timberwood Park is a census-designated place that serves as a bedroom community for San Antonio. Residents have access to a private, 30-acre park with a 7-acre lake, and they won’t pay property taxes any sooner than 2032 due to an annexation agreement. Timberwood Park is located in the foothills of Texas Hill Country, and about 36,000 people live here.
5. Melissa
Average rent: $2,464
Average total monthly cost of living: $4,251
Livability score: 66
This fast-growing Dallas suburb has swelled in population from about 1,300 residents in the early 2000s to roughly 14,000 today. Melissa boasts “a lifestyle and atmosphere of small-town living, but with big-city amenities only minutes away.” For now, at least, it only gets a livability score of 66 from AreaVibes, and its monthly average cost of living is quite high for Social Security alone.
4. Glenn Heights
Average rent: $2,181
Average total monthly cost of living: $4,096
Livability score: 57
Glenn Heights’ low livability score and average monthly cost of living over $4,000 make it a place to avoid for couples living on just Social Security. A Dallas suburb, it’s home to about 16,000 residents, many of them young professionals and families. Groceries and utilities cost retired couples close to national averages, but utilities come in around 9% higher ($383) a month, and transportation costs are about 26% higher ($519 a month).
3. Little Elm
Average rent: $2,375
Average total monthly cost of living: $4,313
Livability score: 64
Little Elm is a little expensive for Social Security-only couples, but there’s nothing little about the growth it has seen. Home to just a few thousand residents in 2000, Little Elm has exploded into a town of roughly 55,000. A suburb of Denton located about an hour north of Dallas, Little Elm has received awards for community safety in recent years.
2. Lakeway
Average rent: $3,173
Average total monthly cost of living: $5,049
Livability score: 74
Lakeway’s livability score is the second highest in our top 10. But average rents for retired couples top $3,000, and average monthly living costs soar past $5,000. Roughly 20,000 people make their home here, about 20 miles northwest of Austin. Lakeway is located next to the popular Lake Travis.
1. University Park
Average rent: $3,705
Average total monthly cost of living: $5,556
Livability score: 82
University Park has the highest livability score on our list, a respectable 82. It also has the highest average rent and cost of living by far, meaning Social Security-only couples will struggle to make it here. University Park is a Dallas suburb that is home to about 25,000 residents, as well as Southern Methodist University.
Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the worst cities in Texas for a couple to live on only a Social Security check based on the average monthly benefit for retired workers, $1,797.23 ($3,594.46 for a couple), sourced from Social Security Administration. GOBankingRates first isolated all cities in Texas with a 2023 average rent above $2,000 a month. GOBankingRates then used Sperling’s Best to find the cost-of-living index for each listed city, looking at groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare. Next, GOBankingRates used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey to find the annual expenditure amount for groceries (“food at home”), utilities, transportation, and healthcare for people aged 65 and older in order to find how much a couple 65 and over would spend on necessities in each city on a monthly basis. GOBankingRates then added monthly housing, grocery, transportation, utilities and healthcare costs together to find where a couple 65 and older could survive on their Social Security or less. GOBankingRates scored and combined livability (sourced from AreaVibes) and monthly necessities expenditure, with the highest score being worst. In final calculations, total monthly necessities expenditures were weighted 3x. All data was collected and is up to date as of January 3, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Worst Places in Texas for a Couple To Live on Only a Social Security Check
