In any state in the United States, living on your Social Security check alone is possible, but it is not always the best idea. There are places where the individual budget must be higher, as the monthly cost of expenses is higher. And we are not only talking about the cost of housing. Other monthly expenses such as shopping or medical expenses are also important and must be taken into account.
If we want to live in a place that has a high price in general, it is necessary to consider having other extra income. It is very common for a retiree to have only Social Security as a source of income, even though it is not recommended. Therefore, the retiree who is thinking of moving should avoid the following places, as they are too expensive to live comfortably on the pension.
Still, each individual situation is totally unique, so studying the family economy is important before making a decision. Let’s take a look at these 5 worst places to live on Social Security alone. Would you like to live in any of them?
Worst places to live on Social Security alone
As we have already commented previously, these places are bad to live in because economically they require a very high level. On the other hand, the standard of living is very good, as well as livability. As Money Talks points out, the difference between the average Social Security benefit and the average expenditure is very high. And that is why any pensioner would need some extra income to live comfortably.
- Washington, D.C.. With a typical annual expenditure of about $30,967, this city ranks fifth on the list. The average annual benefit is about $17,174, which makes it impossible, missing nearly $14,000 to cover all expenses.
- Marin County, California. As with Washington, D.C., to live in Marin County most retirees on average Social Security will need almost $14,000 extra. The average benefit is $22,960 here, while average annual spending is $36,956.
- Bronx, New York. In this part of New York we will need a median income of almost $30,000 per year to live. In contrast, the average Social Security is just $15,500, so it covers barely half of the money we need.
- San Mateo, California. With an average benefit of $22,287 a year, in San Mateo it takes $15,337 more to reach the $37,624 average cost of living. Social Security is certainly not enough to live on here.
- San Francisco, California. To live in San Francisco with an average Social Security benefit, we will need an average annual income of an extra $17,986. The annual cost of living is $36,553 dollars, while the average annual Social Security is $18,567 dollars.
With this information we can now avoid living in the most expensive places, so we will not need an extra income that will force us to do more work during the Social Security pension.