18 CA Cities Among Worst Places To Save For Retirement

CALIFORNIA — As the cost of living skyrockets, many Californians are falling short in terms of their retirement savings, according to a report from financial resource Mutual Fund.

In a study of city's nationwide, California communities made up 18 of the 25 worst cities for saving for retirement, about 72 percent of the list, according to the study. No California city made the list of 25 best places to save for retirement.

The report analyzed the best and worst places to save for retirement and, according to their findings, 52 percent of households nationwide may not be able to cover essential expenses after retirement. The ranking looked at 170 of the most populous cities in the country to determine where the best "nest egg" cities are.

Probably unsurprisingly, Los Angeles topped the list. With a median yearly income of just over $76,000 and a monthly housing cost of more than $3,200, the city is burdened by an enormous number of cost-burdened homeowners, the study concluded.

"The money can’t be made up in other ways, especially with a cost of living above the national average and a sky-high state income tax rate of 13.3%. Add to this a 16.8% city-wide poverty rate, and it’s easy to see how nest eggs are going untended in Tinseltown," researchers said.

Anaheim followed directly behind LA, ranking second on the list. Researchers said the median household income in the most populous city in Orange County is $85,133, which could lead to financial strain with the median home price being almost $850,000.

A little further south, Oceanside earned the fourth spot on the list with about 44 percent of the city being classified as cost-burdened homeowners. The median income in Oceanside is $83,271 and the median home price is $823,249, according to the study.

Rounding out the top five worst cities to save for retirement, San Diego sports the highest median home price among the top five at $960,202. Its median income is also the highest at $100,010 and almost 38 percent of homeowners are considered cost-burdened, the study said.

New York City was the only non-Californian city in the top five, ranking third on the list.

The other California cities that made the list of 25 hardest places to save for retirement include:

• Long Beach ranked 6
• San Jose ranked 8
• Huntington Beach ranked 9
• Oakland ranked 10
• Santa Ana ranked 11
• Oxnard ranked 12
• Irvine ranked 13
• Santa Clarita ranked 14
• San Francisco ranked 15
• San Bernardino ranked 17
• Sunnyvale ranked 19
• Riverside ranked 21
• Pomona ranked 24
• Santa Rosa ranked 25

To determine the ranking, Mutual Fund compared the cities across 12 weighted variables that include:

• Median household income
• Median monthly housing costs
• Percent of cost-burdened homeowners
• Income growth rate
• Poverty rate
• Median housing price
• Housing price-to-income ration
• Cost of living
• Percent of homeowners without a mortgage
• Unemployment rate
• State income tax rate
• Local tax rates

The study also analyzed the best places to build a retirement nest egg and unfortunately no cities in the Golden State made the top 25 list.

The top five best places to save for retirement were:

1. Overland Park, Kansas
2. Boise, Idaho
3. Durham, North Caroline
4. Gilbert, Arizona
5. Arlington, Texas