Plan to retire with $1M? See how far study says that will get you in Modesto.
Looking to live in Modesto for nearly 25 years after retirement?
If you've got a $1 million nest egg, you're good to go, a new study finds.
The study, by financial technology company SmartAsset, factored in expenses for housing, food, health care, utilities and more, to determine where $1 million lasts the longest.
For Modesto, the number is 24.89 years. The "Water Wealth Contentment Health" city ranks second of nine California cities included in the study. In the top spot is — drumroll, please — Bakersfield. There, $1 million buys you 26.32 years of retirement.
Trailing Modesto are, in order, Stockton, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, Orange and San Francisco.. In the City by the Bay, you're OK as long as you don't plan to live longer than 15.93 years after retiring.
SmartAsset's study looked Bureau of Labor Statistics data on the average annual expenditures of senior citizens throughout the nation.. "We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, health care, utilities, transportation and other) in each city," the study site states.
In Modesto, the current annual costs are $10,265 for housing, $5,978 food, $6,455 health care, $4,513 utilities and $8,824 transportation, for a total of $36,035., SmartAsset says. As for the $1 million, the company assumed it "would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2 percent, reflecting the typical return on a conservative investment portfolio."
While Modesto ranked second in the Golden State, the study puts it way down at 225th nationwide. Across the U.S., the top spot goes to McAllen, Texas, where $1 million buys 42.29 years of retirement. In 10th place is Norman, Oklahoma, at 36.51 years.
Additional information on the study, including the methodology and interactive map, can be found at bit.ly/2qPXUto.
This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Plan to retire with $1M? See how far study says that will get you in Modesto.."