Yahoo Finance Two-Town Retirement: 10 Most Affordable Second Cities for Your Golden Years
When it comes to “second cities” for retirees, there’s something about Ohio.
GOBankingRates has compiled a “10 best” list of second cities to consider. The findings are based on livability scores, mortgage costs and monthly expenses such as groceries for people over 65.
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Ohio alone has six entries in our top 10. And you don’t have to go far from Ohio for the rest of the list, with all but one of the cities from the Midwest or Upper Midwest. The list-topper isn’t in the Midwest, but it’s just south of Ohio in neighboring Kentucky.
Look deeper at the data and you’ll see a whopping 10 Ohio cities in the top 15, and 20 Ohio cities in the top 100.
Buckeye State? How about “Second City State”? Median monthly mortgages in the $1,000 to $1,500 range, reasonable cost-of-living figures and solid livability scores make Ohio a place to consider for retirees considering a second hometown. You’ll get no argument from JobsOhio.com, which boasts that Ohio offers the “best of the Midwest at a great price.”
Possible drawbacks to “second-citying” in Ohio and the Midwest? Cold winters and muggy summers. No ocean coastlines. In some cases, lower life expectancies than other regions of the country. Be sure to do your homework.
Read on for our complete top 10 list.
10. Clawson, Michigan
Median monthly mortgage: $1,607
Total monthly expenditures: $1,651
Livability index: 91
This Detroit suburb has a population of about 12,000. Clawson has branded itself as a “Little City With a Big Heart.” Average monthly expenditures come in around $1,651, including $361 for groceries. Clawson also has the lowest average monthly healthcare costs on our list at about $468 a month.
9. Marietta, Ohio
Median monthly mortgage: $1,068
Total monthly expenditures: $1,630
Livability index: 88
Marietta is a city of about 13,000 people in southeast Ohio, along the Ohio River and border with West Virginia. Its average monthly healthcare cost of about $613 is the highest in our top 10, but median monthly mortgages are third-lowest.
8. Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Median monthly mortgage: $1,089
Total monthly expenditures: $1,429
Livability index: 80
With low median mortgages and the lowest monthly expenses in our top 10 ($1,429), Fergus Falls is an affordable option for retirees, especially if they don’t mind cold winters. Fergus Falls is located in western Minnesota and has a population of about 14,000.
7. Maumee, Ohio
Median monthly mortgage: $1,548
Total monthly expenditures: $1,578
Livability index: 89
A suburb of Toledo, Maumee is a river city with about 14,000 residents. Retirees will pay about $356 a month for groceries and about $318 a month for utilities.
6. Marion, Iowa
Median monthly mortgage: $1,577
Total monthly expenditures: $1,642
Livability index: 93
Marion’s livability score of 93 is the highest in our top 10. Since 1990, the population of this Cedar Rapids suburb has doubled from around 20,000 residents to about 40,000. You can score groceries here for about $366 a month.
5. Massillon, Ohio
Median monthly mortgage: $1,085
Total monthly expenditures: $1,514
Livability index: 87
You’ll find football-loving Massillon in northeast Ohio, about 60 miles south of Cleveland. Massillon brands itself as the “City of Champions” — at least in part for its dominant high-school football team. Retirees might want to consider it as a second city for its reasonable median mortgages and cost of living, with groceries costing about $360 a month.
4. Ashland, Ohio
Median monthly mortgage: $944
Total monthly expenditures: $1,515
Livability index: 87
Ashland’s median monthly mortgage of just $944 is the lowest in our top 10. It’s located in northeast Ohio, roughly halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. About 19,000 people live here.
3. Mentor, Ohio
Median monthly mortgage: $1,640
Total monthly expenditures: $1,558
Livability index: 92
Another entry from northeast Ohio, Mentor has the largest population in our list, with about 48,000 residents. It also has the list’s highest median monthly mortgage at $1,640. A month’s worth of groceries will run you about $371.
2. Tiffin, Ohio
Median monthly mortgage: $958
Total monthly expenditures: $1,434
Livability index: 84
Sometimes referred to as “The Education Community,” Tiffin is home to Heidelberg and Tiffin universities. The city is located in north central Ohio, about an hour’s drive southeast of Toledo. Tiffin’s median monthly mortgage of about $958 is the second-lowest on our list, and it has the lowest average monthly costs for groceries ($341) and miscellaneous monthly costs (just $56).
1. Frankfort, Kentucky
Median monthly mortgage: $1,251
Total monthly expenditures: $1,568
Livability index: 91
With a population of about 29,000, Kentucky’s historic capital city maintains a small-town feel. Its livability score of 91 is among the highest in our top 10. Monthly utilities will run you a list-low $301, and a month’s worth of groceries will set you back about $356, tied for second-lowest. Plus, there’s bluegrass music and world-class bourbon.
Methodology: To determine the most affordable and livable second cities for retirees, GOBankingRates analyzed cities across the United States in terms of home value, livability index, and cost of living across multiple indexes. The Zillow Home Value Index was used to find the median home value for June 2023 for each city. Using the home value and the national-average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (sourced from Federal Reserve Economic Research), the monthly mortgage cost was calculated. For each city, the cost of living indexes for groceries, healthcare, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous were sourced from Sperling’s Best Places. The cost of living indexes were multiplied by the national median expenditure costs for each category for people 65 and over, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, to give the costs for each expenditure category. For each city, the livability index was sourced from AreaVibes. The livability index, the monthly mortgage cost, and monthly expenditure cost were all scored and combined to rank all the cities. All data is up to date as of Aug. 1, 2023.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Two-Town Retirement: 10 Most Affordable Second Cities for Your Golden Years
