- When deciding on a place to retire, questions about weather, taxes, and housing affordability all need to be considered.
- We teamed up with Zillow to find US cities where homes are more affordable than the average price of a new car – about $37,000.
- Based on median home value, cities in the South and Midwest are the most affordable places to retire.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
Picking a place to retire boils down to a number of factors.
There’s weather and climate, retiree taxes, access to healthcare, cost of living, and housing affordability to consider. But depending on how much you’re saving for retirement, the latter might be the most important item to check off the list. Homes are getting more expensive: the median home value is $226,300, according to Zillow.
But that’s not to say more affordable homes don’t exist. We teamed up with Zillow to find some of the most affordable places to retire, where the median home value is less than the average cost of a new car (and therefore the car’s value) – about $37,000, according to Kelley Blue Book. While a few of these cities are in the Carolinas, most are sprinkled throughout the Midwest.
Below, take a look at places you can retire in the US for less than the cost of a new car.
14. Eldorado, Illinois
Median home value: $35,900
Eldorado is in Saline County, Illinois. Its cost of living is about 25% lower than the US average.
12. Princeville, North Carolina
Median home value: $34,400
Princeville, North Carolina, was founded after the Civil War. As of 2010, it had a population of 2,082.
10. Jonesboro, Louisiana
Median home value: $33,300
Jonesboro is in Louisiana's Jackson Parish, where it serves as the parish's railroad, agricultural, industrial, and governmental center.
9. Nanty-Glo, Pennsylvania
Median home value: $32,400
The name Nanty-Glo means "The Ravine of Coal." Located in western Pennsylvania, it was once a hub for coal mining but is now relatively quiet.
8. Society Hill, South Carolina
Median home value: $31,300
The oldest community in Darlington County, South Carolina, Society Hill dates back to the Revolutionary War.
7. Naoma, West Virginia
Median home value: $30,200
Naoma, West Virginia, is about 5 1/2 hours west of Washington, DC. Its cost of living is 21% lower than the US average.
6. Commerce, Oklahoma
Median home value: $27,600
Despite being in Oklahoma, Commerce is part of the Joplin, Missouri, metropolitan area. It has a population of 2,645, according to the 2010 US census.
5. Nunnelly, Tennessee
Median home value: $26,400
Located in western Tennessee, Nunnelly is about 5 miles north of Centerville. Its zip code is 37137.
4. Earlington, Kentucky
Median home value: $25,900
A small town with a population of 1,413, according to the US 2010 census, Earlington is in Hopkins County, Kentucky. Its cost of living is about 29% lower than the US average.
3. Milan, Missouri
Median home value: $22,100
Located in Missouri's Sullivan County, Milan had a population of 1,802 in July 2018. The average commute time is less than 10 minutes.
2. Montezuma, Indiana
Median home value: $20,900
Located along the Wabash River in Indiana, Montezuma is about 70 miles west of Indianapolis. The town has about 1,100 residents, according to its website.
1. Flint, Michigan
Median home value: $19,200
The principal city in mid-Michigan, Flint is about 66 miles northwest of Detroit. It has a population of 102,434, according to the 2010 US census.