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County 10th in state for living off Social Security

Chautauqua County ranks 10th among New York’s 62 boroughs and counties in a new nationwide study on the best places to live on Social Security.

The fifth annual report by SmartAsset, a New York City-based financial advising firm, assigns a “Social Security Goes Furthest Index” number to each county in the United States. The index takes into account the average Social Security income for each county, the state tax that would be paid on that and average living expenses for the county. The results of that get ranked on a 0-to-100 scale to create the index, with 100 being where Social Security covers the most needs.

Chautauqua County scored a 76.67 on that index, with a $18,461 cost of living and an annual Social Security payout of $18,757. That’s not radically far behind the top county in New York, rural Yates County in the Finger Lakes region. That county has an index of 79.70, a cost of living at $18,138 and an average payout of $19,157.

The report shows there are no state taxes on Social Security payouts in New York.

Cattaraugus County ranked No. 16 in the state (cost of living $18,326 and annual Social Security $18,335) and Erie County ranked No. 46 (cost of living $20,220, annual Social Security $18,818).

The five lowest-ranked places in New York are the five boroughs of New York City.

Although Chautauqua County is in the top 10 in the state, it’s only No. 762 nationally, with Yates County coming in at No. 360.

The top county in the country is Box Butte County, in the Rocky Mountain foothills of western Nebraska. Social Security beneficiaries there get average annual payouts of $24,125 and the cost of living is $17,546. Despite the fact that payouts are taxed in that county, that nets Box Butte County the top index score of 100.

The second-place county is in a more familiar state for retirees: Florida. Sumter County’s index of 99.64 comes from $18,897 cost of living, $24,678 annual payout and no taxes on benefits.

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