Yahoo Finance 10 Best Places in Iowa for a Couple To Live on Only a Social Security Check
Looking for an affordable place to retire and wondering if you ought to give Iowa a try?
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The Hawkeye State offers multiple options for retirees on tight budgets, even those planning to live on Social Security alone. Reasons for this include relatively reasonable housing costs. Average monthly rents under $1,000 are long gone or disappearing in many U.S. states, but several livable spots in Iowa still have ’em.
GOBankingRates has compiled a top 10 list of Iowa cities that best combine affordability and livability. To do so, we’ve blended data from the U.S. Census American Consumer Survey, Sperling’s Best Places, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Zillow Observed Rental Index, the Social Security Administration, and AreaVibes.
See below for our reverse-order countdown, with Iowa’s top blend of affordability and livability in the No. 1 spot. As you browse, keep in mind that the average monthly Social Security benefit for couples these days is about $3,580 a month, according to the Social Security Administration.
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10. Des Moines
Average rent: $1,043
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,783
Livability score: 81
State capitals don’t make these lists very often, but Iowa’s does. Des Moines, a city of about 214,000 in central Iowa, may appeal to cost-conscious retirees in search of a more medium-sized city. It offers 4,000 acres of parkland, Drake University, a large botanical garden, a hip East Village area, minor league sports and various other attractions. Retired couples will pay about $384 a month for groceries here.
9. Newton
Average rent: $685
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,449
Livability score: 77
Newton is located 30 miles east of Des Moines and is home to the Iowa Speedway. Newton has the lowest livability score in our top 10, coming in at 77. But it also has the lowest average rent in our top 10, an eye-popping $685.42. Groceries are also reasonable at about $379 a month for a retired couple. About 16,000 people live here.
8. Marion
Average rent: $982
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,757
Livability score: 82
This fast-growing city outside Cedar Rapids is home to about 41,000 residents. Like several of the entries in our list, it offers budget-conscious retirees average rents of under $1,000 a month. Attractions include the historic Granger House Museum, the Marion Arts Museum and the Uptown Marion Market.
7. Ankeny
Average rent: $1,647
Average total monthly cost of living: $3,450
Livability score: 92
A suburb of Des Moines, Ankeny has the highest livability score in our top 10. Ankeny’s average monthly rent ($1,667.24) and average total monthly cost of living are also the highest on our list, but still manageable compared to many other U.S. locations. Ankeny’s population stood at less than 20,000 as recently as 1990 but has since swelled to more than 70,000.
6. Indianola
Average rent: $895
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,695
Livability score: 82
Indianola’s population (about 16,000) hasn’t exactly ballooned in recent years. But this Des Moines suburb is home to the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame and the 9-day National Balloon Classic. It’s another entry on the list with sub-$1,000 monthly rents and also offers a monthly cost of living under $2,700. Nearby Lake Ahquabi is a popular summertime destination.
5. Waterloo
Average rent: $769
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,467
Livability score: 81
Retirees may struggle to keep the ABBA song of the same name out of their heads, but they can savor Waterloo’s low average monthly rent and grocery costs (about $370 a month for the latter). Waterloo also has the lowest average monthly transportation costs in our top 10 (about $265). Located about an hour northwest of Cedar Rapids, Waterloo offers the Grout Museum District, the Waterloo Center for the Arts and the agriculture-rich Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area. About 67,000 residents call Waterloo home.
4. Urbandale
Average rent: $1,139
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,891
Livability score: 89
You’ll find Urbandale and its 45,000-ish residents (nearly double its 1990 population), just a few minutes northwest of Des Moines. It’s home to 850 acres of parks and historic Living History Farms, where both then-Pope John Paul II and then-President Barack Obama have delivered speeches. Urbandale’s livability score of 89 is the third-highest on our list.
3. Coralville
Average rent: $1,023
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,781
Livability score: 88
Coralville is celebrating its 150th birthday this year. It markets itself with a slogan of “Rich History. Bright Future.” Located just outside Iowa City, Coralville has roughly doubled in population since 1990 and now has about 23,000 residents. Attractions include the Xstream Arena and the expansive Coral Ridge Mall. Groceries here will cost a retired couple around $390 a month.
2. Dubuque
Average rent: $879
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,651
Livability score: 87
Dubuque is located along Iowa’s eastern border, the Mississippi River. It brands itself as Iowa’s “first city” and “Where Iowa Started.” Its overall cost of living, highlighted by an average monthly rent of less than $900, makes it a strong option for retirees on a tight budget. Dubuque also offers casinos and numerous historic buildings and sites.
1. Ames
Average rent: $962
Average total monthly cost of living: $2,825
Livability score: 90
The city of Ames manages to offer sub $1,000 average monthly rent and a high livability score of 90. Home to about 66,000 residents, it boasts Iowa State University and the lively Campustown area nearby. Ames is also home to three different USDA facilities, the Ames History Museum and the Octagon Center for the Arts.
Methodology: To find the best places in Iowa for a couple to live on only Social Security benefits, GOBankingRates gathered populations for cities in Iowa through the US Census American Consumer Survey. For each city, GOBankingRates checked cost-of-living indexes from Sperling’s Best Places across multiple expenditure categories including groceries, healthcare, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous. Each cost-of-living index was multiplied by each expenditure category’s national average cost as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 consumer expenditure survey to find the expenditure costs in each city. The average rent for each city was sourced from the Zillow Observed Rental Index. Adding those figures to monthly expenditure costs provides the total monthly cost for living in each city. The average Social Security benefits per month were sourced from the Social Security Administration Monthly Statistical Snapshot and doubled to find a couple’s average social security benefits. Every city’s total monthly cost above the monthly Social Security benefits for a couple was removed. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes, and all locations with a score less than 70 were removed from consideration. The livability index was scored and weighted at 1.50, and the total monthly cost was scored and weighted at 1.20. Those scores were combined and sorted to find the best places in Iowa for a couple to live on Social Security benefits alone. All data was collected and is up to date as of Oct. 5, 2023.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Best Places in Iowa for a Couple To Live on Only a Social Security Check
