22 American cities where $1 million goes the furthest during retirement

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$1 million can last retirees 28 years or more in 22 US cities.

• It is getting harder to retire with only $1 million saved up.
• SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees to see how many years $1 million would last in over 250 cities.
• Southern states dominated the list, with Texas claiming the most spots. Major cities in Texas have affordable housing markets and the state is home to many of the best places to live in 2018, according to US News.

It is getting harder to retire with only $1 million saved up. Ten years ago, $1 million had the same buying power of just under $1.2 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.

In a new study, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees to see how many years $1 million would last in over 250 big and mid-sized US cities. SmartAsset looked at average annual expenses for seniors throughout the country and applied cost of living data on housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and utilities.

To determine how long $1 million would last in each city, SmartAsset assumed $1 million would grow at 2% rate of return (that's interest minus inflation). The sum of each annual number was divided by $1 million to calculate how many years it would last retirees.

Southern states dominated the list, with Texas claiming the most spots. Major cities in Texas have affordable housing markets and the state is home to many of the best places to live in 2018, according to US News.

Below, check out the top 22 cities where $1 million would last retirees 28 years or more, along with the average annual expenses for housing, food, and healthcare.