City Retirement Calculator
Where does your nest egg go furthest? Compare retirement costs across 30+ US cities.
How This Calculator Works
Runs in your browser. No account. No saved financial data.
Formula
Adjusted spending is base annual spending × city composite index.
The city composite is a weighted mix: housing 35%, food 15%, healthcare 15%, taxes 15%, transportation 10%, and utilities 10%.
Worked example
If your baseline is $40,000 and a city has a 1.25 composite index, projected first-year spending is $50,000. Future fixed-strategy withdrawals inflate from that amount each year.
Assumptions
- City multipliers are relative cost-of-living estimates, not official household budgets.
- Portfolio growth uses the nominal return input, while spending inflates annually.
- The fixed strategy uses adjusted spending in year 1, then inflates later withdrawals.
Limits
- Neighborhood, housing tenure, healthcare needs, and tax residency can dominate averages.
- International cities use broad heuristics and do not model currency risk or visa rules.
- The data is best for comparing scenarios, not setting a final retirement budget.
Five priciest vs. five cheapest US cities (composite index)
Cost-of-living composites and adjusted spending for a $40,000/yr national-average retiree. The composite is the same weighted blend the calculator above applies (housing 35%, healthcare 15%, taxes 15%, food 15%, transportation 10%, utilities 10%) — only the slice changes here, not the math.
| City | Composite index | Housing | Taxes | $40k baseline becomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 1.73 | 2.65 | 1.37 | $69,080 |
| San Jose, CA | 1.65 | 2.50 | 1.37 | $66,000 |
| New York City, NY | 1.64 | 2.39 | 1.46 | $65,600 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1.41 | 1.87 | 1.37 | $56,520 |
| Boston, MA | 1.40 | 1.85 | 1.25 | $56,120 |
| Knoxville, TN | 0.71 | 0.75 | 0.00 | $28,480 |
| Chattanooga, TN | 0.73 | 0.78 | 0.00 | $29,320 |
| San Antonio, TX | 0.74 | 0.78 | 0.00 | $29,640 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 0.78 | 0.85 | 0.00 | $31,320 |
| Houston, TX | 0.81 | 0.90 | 0.00 | $32,320 |
Top five rows are the highest-cost metros; bottom five are the lowest. Housing and state-income-tax differentials dominate the spread — the no-income-tax states (TX, FL, TN, WA, NV) cluster near the bottom of the composite ranking.
How to Use the City Retirement Calculator
The city retirement calculator compares how the same nest egg behaves across different cost-of-living environments. Start with a baseline annual spending number that represents your current or target lifestyle. The calculator adjusts that spending by each city's composite cost index and then projects how long the portfolio lasts under the selected return, inflation, and withdrawal assumptions. It is most useful for comparing trade-offs, not for declaring that one city is always best.
Location can be one of the largest retirement levers. Housing, property tax, state income tax, insurance, transportation, and healthcare can make two cities feel completely different for the same household. A lower-cost city can reduce the FIRE number, improve withdrawal-rate safety, or make a part-time income plan easier. A higher-cost city may still be worth it if family, healthcare, climate, community, or career flexibility matter more than the cheapest possible budget.
Cost-of-Living Assumptions and Limitations
The model uses broad city multipliers for housing, food, healthcare, taxes, transportation, and utilities. Housing receives the largest weight because rent, mortgage costs, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance often dominate retirement budgets. Healthcare and taxes also matter, especially for early retirees managing ACA subsidies, Roth conversions, taxable-account sales, or state residency decisions. The composite index is a planning shortcut; your personal situation can differ materially.
A homeowner with a paid-off house may not experience the same housing index as a renter moving into a new market. A household with chronic healthcare needs may care more about provider access and insurance networks than the average healthcare cost index. Taxes can change depending on account type, income source, Social Security treatment, pensions, and whether you split time between states. Use the output as a screening tool, then build a real city budget before relocating or retiring.
How to Turn City Results Into a Plan
Run at least three scenarios: your current city, a realistic lower-cost alternative, and a stretch city you would love but may cost more. Compare the annual spending adjustment, portfolio longevity, and withdrawal pressure. Then use the FIRE number calculator to translate the adjusted spending into a portfolio target, and use the safe withdrawal rate calculator to test the retirement horizon.
If one city looks dramatically better, ask why. Is the difference mostly housing? State tax? Transportation? Healthcare? A cheaper city is only useful if you would actually live there and your personal costs match the model. Retirement feasibility is a household decision, not only a spreadsheet result.
Sources & References
Category weights (housing, food, healthcare, transportation, utilities) come from BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Inter-city multipliers are calibrated against the C2ER COLI methodology. Inflation defaults follow BLS CPI and SSA COLA.
- Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Household spending category weights underpin the city retirement model's housing/food/healthcare/transport breakdown.
- Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Headline CPI series. Default inflation assumptions in calculators are calibrated against long-run CPI averages.
- C2ER Cost of Living Index (COLI) — Council for Community and Economic Research
Primary commercial source for inter-city cost-of-living comparisons. Methodology documented at coli.org/methodology.
- Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information — Social Security Administration
Historical and current SSA COLA values, used to ground inflation discussion against an official benefits index.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are city costs calculated?
Each city has cost-of-living indices for housing, food, healthcare, transportation, utilities, and taxes — weighted to reflect typical retiree spending. Your base spending is multiplied by the city's composite index.
What does the composite index mean?
A composite of 1.0 means national average. Above 1.0 is more expensive; below 1.0 is cheaper. For example, 1.5 means 50% more expensive than average.
Why compare multiple cities?
Location is the single biggest lever on retirement feasibility. The same nest egg that lasts 15 years in San Francisco can last 30+ years in San Antonio.
How accurate are these cost-of-living numbers?
Our data is calibrated against BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data, C2ER COLI reports, and state tax tables. Indices are approximate — actual costs vary by neighborhood and lifestyle.