Southern States Dominate Study of Most Affordable Place to Retire in 2026

By Matt Durr
mlive.com
(TNS)

Retirees looking to stretch their dollars further may want to consider moving to the South. According to a 2026 study conducted by Retirement Living, seven of the 10 most affordable states to retire in are located in the region.

The study used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Redfin, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2026), AAA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration and the Tax Foundation to rank the states. The scoring system rated each state based on housing costs, living costs and tax friendliness.

Topping the list is West Virginia, which had the lowest housing and living costs in the country. The study found the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $643 and the monthly per capita grocery spending averages $205. Seniors need an estimated $303,199 in savings to retire in West Virginia.

For comparison, the study found that retirees looking to live in Wyoming need an estimated $574,000 in savings.

In second and third place were Mississippi and Alabama, which each did well in the living costs category. Mississippi was boosted by its more affordable housing, while Alabama’s tax friendliness pushed it to third overall.

Rounding out the top-five were Oklahoma and Arkansas. Despite finishing in the top-six for both housing and living costs, Oklahoma ranked 20th in tax friendliness, lowering its overall score. Arkansas benefits from the fourth lowest housing costs and finishing 10th in tax friendliness.

It’s also worth noting that none of the 10 most affordable places to retire tax Social Security benefits.

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On the flip side, the most unaffordable places to live are mostly scattered along the East and West Coasts.

California finished as the least affordable state to retire in. The state finished last in housing costs, 45th in living costs and 39th in tax friendliness. Hawaii ranks second-to-last after finishing 49th in both housing and living costs.

Rounding out the bottom five are Washington, Oregon and Colorado. All three states finished in the bottom nine for housing costs and none finished in the top half for living costs or tax friendliness.