It can be overwhelming to try to find the best places to retire in the US. While it’s always nice to dream about our golden years, when we put our OOO notification on forever and settle down in a new place, the United States has plenty of options for retirees seeking an ideal place to settle down. (And no, they’re not all in Florida.) But what separates a great hometown earlier in life from the perfect bases in retirement?
When it comes to choosing a place to retire, affordability is always key—after all, those savings accounts can drain pretty quickly if you aren’t mindful. But it’s also important to consider factors like healthcare quality and safety, as well as recreational opportunities, weather, walking scores, and much more.
To help folks strike that perfect balance between stretching your dollar and having fun, WalletHub has released its annual Best & Worst Places to Retire list—a ranking of 182 cities across the United States (including the 150 most populated US cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state) based on affordability, activities, quality of life, and healthcare.
Each of the four metrics takes several factors into consideration. “Affordability” looks at adjusted cost of living and taxpayer-friendliness (among others); “activities” looks at golf courses and art galleries per capita; “quality of life” looks at weather and strength of elder abuse protections; and “healthcare” looks at vaccination rates and quality of public hospitals.
Not surprisingly, Florida continues to prove itself as a retiree hot spot, occupying 5 slots in the top 15. But the list really runs the gamut of both geography and demographics. (In case you’re wondering, WalletHub considers Bridgeport, Connecticut, to be the “worst” city for retirees, followed by Newark, New Jersey.)
Read on for this year’s top 15 best places to retire in the U.S. and decide where you’d like to hang your hat… or, more accurately, park your vintage convertible. (Hey, you deserve it.)
