5 Worst Cities for Retirement Savers
5. San Diego, California
San Diego, known as “America’s Finest City,” boasts beautiful beaches, a year-round mild climate, and an abundance of craft beers. However, indulging in these delights comes at a cost. With a median home price of $960,202, the highest among our top-five list, 37.8% of the city’s residents find themselves classified as cost-burdened. Additionally, California’s tax rates, combined with a high cost of living index, mean that many residents will struggle to save after budgeting for housing and basic necessities.
4. Oceanside, California
Oceanside proves that the road to a rosy retirement isn’t paved with sun-kissed beaches and longboards. Despite the laid-back atmosphere, residents of Oceanside have to scramble to make their median household income of $83,271 stretch to meet the city’s median home price of $823,249. This leaves 44% of the city classified as cost-burdened homeowners. And with California’s standard 13.3% income tax, Oceanside residents can’t be blamed for skipping the monthly retirement nest egg deposit.
3. New York, New York
New York: “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” except perhaps to the Seychelles for retirement. With a median monthly rent totaling $2,991 and a median household income of just $74,694, a full 43.3% of city residents are classified as cost burdened. Additionally, the unemployment and poverty rates surpass the nation’s averages, with 4.5% of the city unemployed and 18.3% living below the poverty line (compared to 3.5% and 12.7%, respectively). With the third-highest income tax in the nation (10.9%), everyday New Yorkers face a steep climb toward retirement savings.
2. Anaheim, California
The most populous city in Orange County, Anaheim conjures up visions of glitzy homes and Disney resorts, but the reality for its residents is a challenging juggling act. The city’s median home price of $848,592 is chipped away at by a median household income of just $85,133, meaning residents feel the financial strain even before factoring in savings. The icy job market in Anaheim only increases the pressure—a sluggish income growth rate of just 4.14% and an unemployment rate of 4.7% put the city far off the path of national averages (7.32% and 3.5%, respectively), leaving residents thinking about their financial outlook for today, not for tomorrow.
1. Los Angeles, California
The City of Angels tops the list due to some very simple math: A median yearly income of $76,135 simply cannot stand up to a median monthly housing cost of $3,239. This income-to-housing cost disparity underpins the city’s enormous number of cost-burdened homeowners (46%), and the money can’t be made up in other ways, especially with a cost of living above the national average and a sky-high state income tax rate of 13.3%. Add to this a 16.8% city-wide poverty rate, and it’s easy to see how retirement nest eggs are going untended in Tinseltown.
See the complete report, “Nest Egg Neighborhoods: Best Places to Save for Retirement” on MutualFund.com.
SEE ALSO:
• 10 U.S. Cities with the Highest Retirement Income
• Top Affluent Cities for Retirees in 2024
• 2024’s 10 Best Places in the World to Retire
• Retiring on the Cheap: 5 Countries, 7 U.S. Cities Where You Can Retire on $2,000 a Month
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
