This Ohio City Is the Best Place to Retire in the U.S. for Less Than $2,500 a Month

With the economy going the way it is, we wouldn't blame you for considering affordability when it comes to picking a new location for retirement. Fortunately, GOBankingRates has crunched the numbers — including the costs of housing, healthcare, and groceries — and determined the 15 best cities to retire on just $2,500 a month.

Coming in hot at No. 1 is Akron, Ohio. No, it doesn't have the warm climes and white-sand beaches of Florida, but it does have an average monthly mortgage of just $699. On top of that, your monthly necessities should cost an average of $1,662, leading to an average total monthly expenditure of $2,361. 

Now it's not the most affordable city on the list, but Akron takes the top spot due to its livability score of 81, which is the highest on the the list. With a population of 191,481, it's a mid-sized city with plenty to offer, from attractions like the Tudor Revival manor house Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens and the Akron Art Museum, as well as proximity to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Akron is also just 45 minutes from Cleveland, where you'll find the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Orchestra, and major league sports teams.

If you're looking for the most affordable destination on the list, that's Jackson, Mississippi, which definitely delivers warmer temperatures compared to Akron's chilly winters. Here, the average monthly mortgage is $401, with average monthly necessities coming in at $1,758 — that means the average total monthly expenditure of $2,159. The drawback is its livability score, which is just 63. Still, there's plenty to do in Jackson: it's a museum hub with more than 30 institutions spanning topics from aviation to agriculture to art.

And if neither of these cities piques your interest, you can check out the full rankings on GOBankingRates.com.