How Much Money Does it Take to Retire Comfortably in Traverse City? Probably a lot
October 2026
Located at the foot of picturesque Grand Traverse Bay with abundant recreational, dining and cultural opportunities, Traverse City is considered one of the most desirable places in the country to retire.
The city and surrounding region regularly make it into the top 10 lists of best places to retire in the United States by publications including U.S. News and World Report, Travel & Leisure magazine and Realtor.com.
“We looked at all the usual places: Florida, North Carolina, Palm Springs, Scottsdale,” said Jim Trainor, a retired auto company public relations executive who moved with his wife, Diane, to Leelanau County from Southern California three years ago. “Traverse City is like a shining star.”
But local financial advisors who work with retirees and those nearing retirement say not all can afford to buy a home and live out their golden years sailing on the bay, cross country skiing and golfing at one of the region's top-flight golf courses.
Gillow“It’s not your typical, low-cost, Midwest retirement town,” said Trevis Gillow, senior vice presidents, investments at Gillow Wealth Management of Raymond James. “Home values are high. It’s a hurdle to overcome.”
The average selling price of a home in the five-county region of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties has nearly tripled over the past decade, from $239,429 in 2016 to $686,000 in July.
Sale prices in July ranged from $268,760 in Kalkaska County to $966,760 in Leelanau County, which has become a magnet for wealthy retirees. Those figures are from Aspire North Realtors, which represents local real estate agents and brokerages.
The average sale price of a home in July in Antrim County was $747,100. The average price in Benzie County was $584,279 and $667,020 in Grand Traverse County.
Other costs, including groceries, gasoline and restaurant tabs, may be higher than some new retirees moving into the area were expecting, local financial advisors say.
“Are you planning to go out to dinner every night? In Traverse City that can be really expensive,” said Autumn Soltysiak, a partner at hemming& Wealth Management.
Retirees might find they’re spending more on recreation – things such as purchasing e-bikes and golf club memberships – than they did when they were working, she says.
Soltysiak and other financial advisors say there is no magic dollar figure people need to hit to fund a comfortable retirement. Instead, it’s an individual calculation that is dependent on what clients expect from retired life.
“The variable we see is, what does that person want their retirement to look like,” said Art Canfield, senior partner at Centennial Wealth Advisory. “Some retirees are comfortable with living on $3,000 to $4,000 a month. Others need much more.”
HemmingCanfield and other advisors say the major costs people nearing retirement need to plan for are housing, healthcare, travel, other entertainment costs and the impact of inflation.
“Healthcare is a huge expense,” Gillow said, even for retirees insured by Medicare.
Those nearing retirement should add up all their sources of income and plan on living costs jumping 2.5% a year over the long term, says Nathan Prout, a financial advisor at Prout Financial Design.
But they should figure on healthcare costs surging by 5.5% to 6% a year, he adds. And retirees should consider the potential costs of elder care.
“We like to tell people to plan to live close to 100 and decide what you want to do in those years,” Prout said.
There are seasonal costs of living in the Traverse City area that those moving here might not have anticipated, says Dawn Hemming, founder of hemming& Wealth Management.
“Traverse City has real winter heating costs and a summer tourist economy that can push up everyday prices,” Hemming said. “I build in that variability rather than a flat monthly number.”
And although Traverse City has a large medical center and plenty of healthcare providers, those planning for retirement should figure in the potential cost of traveling for specialty care at academic medical centers in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and other cities, she says.
But for some who move here from California and other high-cost-of-living areas, Traverse City is a bargain, says Eric Braund, founder of Black Walnut Wealth Management.
“They say the prices are great here,” he said. “It’s all perspective.”
Trainor is among those who say the Traverse City area is surprisingly affordable.
“I think it’s important to note that I moved here after living for 20 years in Southern California,” he said. “For us, coming here it almost seemed like a bargain.”
He and his wife have embraced winter sports and have found great restaurant deals in those months when the tourist population shrinks.
“There are these wonderful bargains in the winter at places trying to get traffic,” he said. “There are a lot of great deals around.”
But Trainor says he’s felt the impact of prices accelerating in the past year or so, adding that home prices have doubled from the time he and his wife started to plan retirement to when they built their home in Leelanau County three years ago.
Braund says retirees need to have about $2 million in savings, plus Social Security, to generate an annual revenue stream of $80,000 to $100,000 a year.
Retirees should plan on taking annual withdrawals of 4% to 5% from their nest eggs, Braund and other financial advisors say. That will afford them the ability to travel, eat out periodically, occasionally purchase new cars and “help out the grandkids,” Braund said.
Despite escalating costs, the Traverse City area is likely to continue to attract new retirees and retain many local residents who are soon to retire.
The percentage of people in the four-county Traverse City metropolitan area age 55 and above is expected to grow from 40.8% to 43.2% over the next 15 years, according to the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics. The increase includes new residents and current residents aging into that category.
Some, like the Trainors, are Michigan natives who were pulled back to their home state after years of living away. Jim Trainor compares it to salmon who swim back to the same river every year to spawn.
“It’s always something special,” he said.
