Ranked
The best countries to retire to on a US income
Countries that publish a retirement or passive-income residence route, cheapest first.
6 of the 15 countries on this site qualify. The measure: A published retirement route, ordered by overall price level (US = 100). Reviewed September 4, 2026.
Thailand leads on this measure at 32. Non-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay): Age 50 and over. Money: a bank deposit of at least 800,000 baht held for the last three months, about 24,300 dollars, or a monthly income certificate showing at least 65,000 baht, about 1,980 dollars, or a combination of deposit and income totalling 800,000 baht a year. You also need health insurance covering COVID-19 with a sum insured of at least 3,000,000 baht per policy year, which the embassy states as 100,000 dollars, running for the whole stay, an FBI criminal record certificate issued within three months, and a medical certificate on the official form confirming absence of prohibited diseases. No work is permitted. Read the Thailand guide for the figures behind it and the source beside each one.
| # | Country | Price level | Centre rent | Net salary | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand | 32 | $475 | $485 | Non-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay): Age 50 and over. Money: a bank deposit of at least 800,000 baht held for the last three months, about 24,300 dollars, or a monthly income certificate showing at least 65,000 baht, about 1,980 dollars, or a combination of deposit and income totalling 800,000 baht a year. You also need health insurance covering COVID-19 with a sum insured of at least 3,000,000 baht per policy year, which the embassy states as 100,000 dollars, running for the whole stay, an FBI criminal record certificate issued within three months, and a medical certificate on the official form confirming absence of prohibited diseases. No work is permitted. |
| 2 | Mexico | 62 | $765 | $1,010 | Permanent Resident Visa (Residente Permanente) for retirees and pensioners: Retirement or pension income of 1,140 UMA per month over the past six months (MXN 133,733, about USD 7,200 to USD 7,900), or an average monthly balance of 45,850 UMA over twelve months (MXN 5,378,664, about USD 290,000 to USD 318,000). Also available to anyone who has held temporary residency for four consecutive years and to close family of Mexican citizens. Note that permanent residents may not hold a Temporary Import Permit for a foreign-plated car. |
| 3 | Portugal | 63 | $1,200 | $2,077 | D7 residence visa (passive income / retirement): For people living on stable passive income: a pension, Social Security, rental income, dividends, royalties or annuities. The means-of-subsistence benchmark published by the Portuguese visa service is the minimum guaranteed monthly remuneration, EUR 920 in 2026, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% for each dependent child, so a couple needs EUR 1,380 a month. Consulates in practice want to see well above the floor plus a Portuguese bank account holding about a year of that amount, twelve months of accommodation, a NIF, criminal record checks and health cover. Apply at the Portuguese consulate covering your US state, not in Portugal. |
| 4 | Spain | 70 | $1,390 | $2,620 | Visado de residencia no lucrativa (non-lucrative residence visa): Passive income or savings of 400% of the IPREM, which is 2,400 euros a month or 28,800 euros a year in 2026, plus 100% of IPREM (600 euros a month) for each dependant. You must not work at all, including remotely for a US employer, which is the single most common reason Americans pick the wrong permit. Also required: full private health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain with no co-payments and no coverage cap, a medical certificate, and an FBI criminal record check with a Hague apostille. |
| 5 | Italy | 71 | $1,200 | $2,690 | Elective Residency Visa (visto per residenza elettiva): Substantial, stable and continuing passive income from pensions, annuities, investments, property or an established business. Consulates in the US work to roughly EUR 31,000 per year for a single applicant, more for a spouse and dependants. You cannot fund the visa with any form of work income, and you cannot work in Italy on this permit. A lease or property deed in your own name, registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, must be presented as an original. |
| 6 | Ireland | 100 | $2,263 | $4,059 | Stamp 0, person of independent means: You must show individual income of €50,000 a year, plus access to a lump sum roughly equal to the price of a house in Ireland to cover a sudden major expense. Investment sums are generally not counted, so the income needs to be pension income or readily accessible funds. Your finances must be certified by an Irish accountancy firm. You need full private medical insurance covering private hospitals, a police clearance certificate and a health declaration. You cannot claim any state benefits. Apply and be approved before you travel. Average processing time is four months. |
What this ranking does not settle
Every one of these routes sets an income floor, and the floor is what decides whether you qualify — not the cost of living. Read the figure on the country’s visa page before you plan around it.
Nothing on this page is a new figure. Each one is taken from that country's guide, where it sits beside the official source it came from and the date that source was read. If a number here matters to a decision, follow it through to the country page and check the source yourself.
Straight to a country
- Moving to Thailand · Cost of living · Visas · vs the US
- Moving to Mexico · Cost of living · Visas · vs the US
- Moving to Portugal · Cost of living · Visas · vs the US
- Moving to Spain · Cost of living · Visas · vs the US
- Moving to Italy · Cost of living · Visas · vs the US
- Moving to Ireland · Cost of living · Visas · vs the US
The other rankings
- The cheapest countries to move to from the US — Overall price level including rent, US national average = 100
- Countries where Americans can get residency without a job offer — Documented routes that do not require a job offer from a local employer
- Digital nomad visas for Americans, compared — A published residence route of type "digital nomad"
- What healthcare costs Americans abroad, country by country — Typical monthly private insurance premium, US dollars
- Every country, compared — the full table, all measures at once
- Cost of living calculator — put your own take-home pay through it
Top of this ranking
The three countries this list opens on, with the full guide behind each.
