{"id":282511,"date":"2026-02-09T18:32:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282511\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T18:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:32:50","slug":"three-affordable-states-where-social-security-is-enough-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282511\/","title":{"rendered":"Three affordable states where Social Security is enough to retire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living on a fixed income can make every financial decision<\/a> feel like a significant one, whether you\u2019re choosing where to buy groceries – or where to live.<\/p>\n

Retirees<\/a> living on Social Security likely feel that stress. The average monthly Social Security payment for a retired worker was $2,071 in January 2026<\/a>, according to the Social Security Administration.<\/p>\n

For those who own a home and only have Social Security to live on – meaning no additional pension, 401K or other investments to speak of – retirement is a lot easier in some states over others.<\/p>\n

The Independent has analyzed all 50 states based on six categories: overall cost of living, income taxes on Social Security payments, property taxes, vehicle taxes, homeowners<\/a> insurance, and average monthly grocery<\/a> bills per person – to seek out more affordable options for retirees. We ranked each state from No. 1 to No. 50 in each of the six categories, then calculated an average ranking for each state.<\/p>\n

Nashville know-how<\/p>\n

Tennessee is an ideal location for retirees on Social Security: The state has the eighth-lowest cost of living in the country, according to data<\/a> from The Council for Community and Economic Research. <\/p>\n

Tennessee has competitive utility and transportation costs and charges no taxes on Social Security income. <\/p>\n

\"Tennessee\u2019s<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Tennessee\u2019s low cost of living and lack of taxes on retirement income make it a desirable destination for retirees on Social Security looking to settle down (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Additionally, the state doesn\u2019t charge vehicle property taxes and has an average property tax rate of 0.55 percent, among the 15 lowest<\/a> in the country, according to personal finance site WalletHub. Property taxes on a $300,000 home would cost $1,650 a year.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s homeowner insurance rates are relatively high<\/a>, according to personal finance site Bankrate, but there are a number of areas where competitive prices can be found.<\/p>\n

For example, home insurance for a $300,000 house in the Memphis area averages $3,709 a year,<\/a> according to Bankrate. But covering a $300,000 home costs $1,936 in Blountville, a quaint town in the northeast corner of the state near the Virginia border.<\/p>\n

Groceries average $347 per month<\/a> for one person, according to moving resource site Move.org.<\/p>\n

Country living<\/p>\n

West Virginia was a top-five state for affordability in The Independent\u2019s analysis. The state was among the five best in three important categories: cost of living, homeowners insurance and monthly groceries.<\/p>\n

The Mountaineer State\u2019s average home insurance annual premium is $1,047, the fifth-lowest rate among all 50 states, according to Bankrate.<\/p>\n

Monthly groceries for one person average $334 per month, according to Move.org, good enough for the fifth-best in the country.<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

West Virginia has low homeowners insurance rates, monthly grocery costs and a competitive overall cost of living, making it a good fit for retirees living off of their Social Security income (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Also, the state ranked No. 10 for property taxes at an average of $1,620 per year, according to WalletHug.<\/p>\n

However, the West Virginia ranks No. 27 for income tax at 4.82 percent<\/a>, according to tax research and analysis group Tax Foundation, or $99.82 a month on a $2,071 Social Security income (not including any deductions). <\/p>\n

West Virginia\u2019s vehicle property tax is among the 15 highest in the country at $476 for a $29,000 car, according to WalletHub. <\/p>\n

Peach perfect<\/p>\n

Georgia stood out as a desirable destination for retirees on Social Security because it performed consistently well across all categories. <\/p>\n

It was the only state among the top five in The Independent\u2019s analysis that ranked in the top 30 in every category. <\/p>\n

Georgia doesn\u2019t charge property tax on vehicles, and its monthly grocery bills for one person average $347, ranking No. 13 among states.<\/p>\n

\"Georgia<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Georgia offers consistent affordability across key areas like groceries, which average $347 a month for one person, and provides several property tax exemptions for seniors (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It ranked No. 25 for property taxes, levying a 0.81 percent rate, or $2,430 a year on a $300,000 home, according to WalletHub.<\/p>\n

The state also offers senior citizen exemptions<\/a> on property taxes for those with a net income of $10,000 or less and an exemption for surviving spouses of a service member, peace officer or firefighter, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue.<\/p>\n

While Georgia\u2019s 5.82 percent income tax isn\u2019t as low as Tennessee or West Virginia, it remains competitive on a national scale, ranking No. 16 in the country, according to the Tax Foundation. The tax rate would cost the average Social Security recipient $120.53 per month.<\/p>\n

The Peach State ranked No. 26 for homeowners insurance with an average annual premium of $2,041, according to Bankrate. Rates vary widely depending on where the home is located, though. <\/p>\n

For example, the average annual home insurance premium for $300,000 in coverage is $3,783 in the coastal town of St. Marys but $1,743 in Murrayville<\/a>, a small town around an hour north of Atlanta, according to Bankrate.<\/p>\n

This article is sponsored by Credit Karma. We may earn a commission if you engage with their services using links in this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Living on a fixed income can make every financial decision feel like a significant one, whether you\u2019re choosing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[114,268,85,46,266,267],"class_list":{"0":"post-282511","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}