6 Reasons You Need at Least $635K (Plus Social Security) To Retire in Ohio
Many factors go into deciding where to retire, ranging from your health and lifestyle preferences to your finances, weather tolerance and proximity to loved ones. No matter where you decide to settle down, you want to make sure you can afford to pay for housing, utilities, groceries, healthcare, transportation and other common budget items.
When it comes to which states Americans prefer to retire in, Ohio takes the middle spot in rankings released earlier this year from the Unbiased website. The Buckeye State was rated No. 25 overall based on factors such as cost of living, taxes, quality of life, crime and access to healthcare.
In terms of affordability, Ohio landed in the top half nationally — ranked 17 out of 50 states — in a cost-of-living study conducted by GOBankingRates. The study determined the annual cost of expenditures for a retired person in each state by analyzing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
According to the GBR study, you need a minimum of $634,829 — including Social Security benefits — to retire comfortably in Ohio for 20 years. That’s below the national average of $725,025, which skews higher because of ultra-expensive states such as Hawaii, California and Alaska. Retirees in Ohio need at least $793,536 for 25 years of retirement and $953,196 for 30 years of retirement.
The Buckeye State had a cost-of-living index score of 92.2 as of the 2023 third quarter, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s data series. That number rose slightly to 94 during the 2024 first quarter. Any score below 100 indicates that living costs are lower than the national average, while any score above 100 means living costs are higher than average.
If you are considering retiring in Ohio, here are six reasons you’ll need a minimum of $635,000 to retire there for 20 years.
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1. Overall Living Costs
Retirees can expect to spend$53,308.20 a year on overall cost-of-living expenditures in Ohio, which compares favorably to the national average of $57,818. When you back out Social Security income, total average expenditures are $31,741.44 in Ohio. These are the expenses you’ll need to cover with retirement savings or side gigs.
2. Housing Costs
Ohio has a housing cost-of-living index score of 78.4, meaning you’ll spend much less on rent or home purchases here than most of the rest of the U.S. Ohio’s annual cost of housing averages $9,166.53 vs. the U.S. average of $11,692.
3. Utilities Cost
You’ll spend below the national average on electricity, gas and other utilities if you retire in Ohio. The Buckeye State has a utilities index score of 98 and an average utilities cost of $4,151.28 a year vs. the national average of $4,236.
4. Grocery Cost
You can expect to spend a little more than average on groceries by retiring in Ohio. Its yearly cost of groceries averages $4,816.19 compared with the national average of $4,797.
5. Healthcare Costs
Healthcare expenses are a major budget item in retirement, and you’ll likely spend a bit more than average on it by retiring in Ohio. Its healthcare index score is 101.2, with average annual expenditures of $7,640.38. That’s slightly above the national average of $7,540.
6. Transportation Costs
The cost of getting around in Ohio is below the national average, with an index score of 96. The Buckeye State’s average annual cost of transportation is $4,745.28 vs. the national average of $4,943.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 6 Reasons You Need at Least $635K (Plus Social Security) To Retire in Ohio