Retiree Monthly Budgets Hit Nearly $6,700 At The High End, Data Shows

A detailed breakdown of national retiree spending shows housing alone averages $2,669.92 a month, combining a $1,932 two-bedroom rent, $368.92 in property taxes, $234 in homeowners insurance and a $135 median HOA fee, according to data compiled by Kiplinger from Apartments.com, ATTOM, Insurify and the U.S. Census Bureau. HOA fees can run far higher in places like New York, where the average is $739 a month.

Healthcare adds another $960.89 to $1,538.89 a month once Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are combined with out-of-pocket costs, which Fidelity estimates at $172,500 over a 65-year-old's retirement. Transportation runs $1,037.73 to $1,456.01 a month between car payments, insurance, gas and occasional rideshares, while food averages $703.75 to $777.55 and entertainment adds $252.08, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Added together, a retiree's monthly costs can reach $6,694.43 at the high end, well above the $5,094 a month that most pre-retirees told the Schroders 2026 US Retirement Survey they'd be comfortable living on. That leaves a meaningful cushion out of a $10,000 monthly income in moderate-cost areas, but far less room in high-tax, high-HOA metro areas.