These are the best – and worst – cities for retirement, study finds

Jeremy Tanner

Sat, August 31, 2024 at 2:20 PM UTC

5 min read

These are the best – and worst – cities for retirement, study finds

(NEXSTAR) – So many people focus on when to retire – but where they start their golden years shouldn’t be overlooked.

People are living longer and with forecasts of a U.S. retirement crisis looming, affordability is one of the top factors in a new study by WalletHub on the best and worst places to retire. Activities, quality of life and health care rounded out the grading process.

Living up to its reputation, Florida dominated the top five, taking four spots. Orlando wast number 1 overall, thanks largely to its affordability (9th out of 200) and plentiful options for active retirees (16th). WalletHub points out that, while Orlando’s cost of living isn’t dirt cheap, homemaker services and adult day health care were ranked 9th and 20th, respectively. Florida is also a tax-friendly state, and Orlando is one of the cheapest cities for taxes, according to Wallethub.

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When it comes to planning for retirement, author and Rutgers Distinguished Professor Emerita Dr. Barbara O’Neill says the following are the most important: “Proximity to family and friends, local living costs and features (e.g., low crime rate, high-quality hospitals, and proximity to airports), tax structure (nine states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming), and weather (some people want to get away from cold winter weather, ice, and snow).

Miami took the second spot for some of the same reasons that Orlando did, such as relative affordability (54 of 200) and a plethora of activities (2 of 200). Magic City is also extremely walkable with access to public transportation.

Minneapolis took the third spot thanks to its numerous activities (7) and excellent health care (6). WalletHub found that the local job market is especially open to seniors, who can choose to work for some extra income or to stay occupied.

See the top 25 cities in which to retire below:

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Affordability Rank	Activities Rank	Quality of Life Rank	Health Care Rank
1	Orlando, FL	61.49	9	16	74	35
2	Miami, FL	61.47	56	2	89	27
3	Minneapolis, MN	59.63	93	7	79	6
4	Tampa, FL	59.61	40	9	28	93
5	Fort Lauderdale, FL	59.47	59	13	48	39
6	Scottsdale, AZ	59.32	110	21	3	31
7	Cincinnati, OH	58.17	123	4	70	29
8	St. Petersburg, FL	57.84	40	31	26	55
9	Casper, WY	57.63	3	72	29	88
10	Atlanta, GA	57.34	70	6	120	43
11	Las Vegas, NV	57.33	15	5	111	149
12	Pittsburgh, PA	57.01	121	24	44	7
13	Wilmington, DE	56.68	69	23	139	12
14	Denver, CO	55.96	91	8	99	57
15	Madison, WI	55.80	118	44	7	30
16	Charleston, SC	55.70	42	25	66	111
17	Richmond, VA	55.02	68	35	118	17
17	Pembroke Pines, FL	55.02	58	91	17	54
19	Sioux Falls, SD	54.80	34	151	61	3
20	Cape Coral, FL	54.52	23	73	18	122
21	Tempe, AZ	54.22	110	46	36	42
22	St. Louis, MO	54.18	43	18	181	41
23	Cheyenne, WY	53.96	2	142	54	104
24	Austin, TX	53.89	55	28	71	107
25	Columbia, MD	53.83	138	79	4	5

See the WalletHub website for the complete list.

WalletHub found these the following 25 cities to be the worst in the U.S. when it comes to retirement:

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Affordability Rank	Activities Rank	Quality of Life Rank	Health Care Rank
158	Worcester, MA	42.26	146	118	121	79
159	Montgomery, AL	42.17	11	155	164	181
160	Fort Smith, AR	41.96	31	160	159	170
161	Chula Vista, CA	41.79	156	163	11	89
162	Greensboro, NC	41.72	53	127	179	144
163	Moreno Valley, CA	41.23	132	180	103	153
164	Vancouver, WA	41.19	155	94	143	60
165	Santa Rosa, CA	40.68	176	105	16	127
166	Modesto, CA	40.62	122	181	69	169
167	Spokane, WA	40.53	130	150	155	102
168	Tacoma, WA	40.52	158	68	150	99
169	Warwick, RI	40.35	148	117	136	95
170	Ontario, CA	40.24	137	159	113	148
171	Pearl City, HI	39.98	180	164	1	101
172	Riverside, CA	39.73	135	135	130	140
173	Fontana, CA	39.10	136	174	93	157
174	Wichita, KS	38.98	107	136	166	165
175	Bridgeport, CT	38.48	175	154	153	19
176	Fresno, CA	38.40	108	175	140	162
177	Detroit, MI	38.27	129	101	182	152
178	Newark, NJ	38.18	159	87	163	118
179	Bakersfield, CA	37.41	109	182	123	168
180	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	37.26	151	177	85	143
181	Stockton, CA	36.92	134	176	133	145
182	San Bernardino, CA	35.71	126	172	172	172

For many nearing retirement age, the recent volatility in the stock market has left them concerned about what their 401K nest egg might look like when they finally start to cash out, and a place like Brownsville, Texas, the most affordable out of the 200 cities, might start to look appealing.

“There are a lot of folks who just don’t have enough money put away,” Jason Athas, a manager of educational programs at Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp., a Florida-based nonprofit that provides debt relief and counseling services, told the AARP. “Credit card debt is one of the biggest problems seniors have today.”

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If money’s not an issue, retirees who just want the greatest number of activities to fill their days might consider San Francisco, which WalletHub ranked number 1 in that category.

As for quality of life and health care, Pearl City, Hawaii and New Haven, Connecticut took the top honors, respectively.

For more on the methodology behind the study, see the WalletHub website.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.

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