AARP Magazine ranks Omaha-Council Bluffs as one of the ten best metro areas in the country to live on $100 a day. Gabi Redford, the magazine’s editorial projects manager, says they looked for cities where a person could live most comfortably on an annual income of $36,500 a year.
“The $100 a day was a nice round number, plus, we know that many seniors are living on a fixed income,” Redford says. “Many seniors are actually living just on their Social Security income and that’s a very modest amount of money.”
She says one of the first things they looked at were cities that had an extremely affordable housing market –the Omaha metro area’s median home price is $123,000 — while the area also has many cultural offerings, parks, hiking, biking and other recreational activities. Redford says they also looked at things ranging from the arts to health care facilities to educational opportunities in determining the top ten list.
The cost of living in Omaha-Council Bluffs is very affordable, she says, considering categories including: groceries, utilities, health care, transportation and one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates.
The other cities in the top ten are: Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Las Cruses, New Mexico; Spokane, Washington; Roanoke, Virginia; San Antonio, Texas; Grand Junction, Colorado; Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Morgantown, West Virginia and Gainesville, Florida.