These Are the Best and Worst Cities to Retire in the U.S.

Having enough money to live comfortably in your golden years is probably the biggest concern when it comes to retirement. When you have a fixed income, you want to live within your means, and being able to deal with fluctuating prices and rising costs of living. Personal finance site WalletHub reports that about 68% of workers are somewhat confident they will have enough money to retire comfortably, and only 21% of workers are very confident. Adding to that, more than half of the people surveyed expect to retire after the age of 65 and three-quarters expect to work after retiring.

Where you live can make a lot of difference as some cities and states are a little bit easier on retirees than others. WalletHub recently released their 2024 Best and Worst Places to Retire report, which looked at the retiree-friendliness of more than 180 cities across 45 key metrics like adjusted cost of living, taxpayer-friendliness, annual cost of in-home services, number of recreation and senior centers per capita, share of popular aged 65 or older, mild weather, and doctors and health care facilities per residents.

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“It’s important to choose wisely when picking where to retire, as many retirees are on a fixed income,” says Chris Lupo, a WalletHub analyst “As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so. In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees.”

It’s not a shock that five out of 10 cities in the top 10 list are located in Florida, with Orlando being number one. Florida is tax-friendly because it does not have an estate, inheritance, or even income tax. The second on the list was Miami and third was Minneapolis.

The Western U.S. did have some representation in the top 10 rankings: Scottsdale, Arizona, was number six and Casper, Wyoming was number nine. The bad news, though, is there were a lot of Western cities on the bottom 10 list—and they were all in California: Fontana, Fresno, Bakersfield, Rancho Cucamonga, Stockton, and San Bernardino.

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But the West isn’t a completely inhospitable place for retirees—Pearl City, Hawaii, and Scottsdale, Arizona have the highest share of population aged 65 and older. Honolulu, Hawaii, and Los Angeles, California, have some of the highest share of recreation and senior centers per capita. And all Western cities are in the top five when it comes to best “mild weather” rankings: Glendale, California; Riverside, California; Bakersfield, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Henderson, Nevada.

Take a look at the top 10 and bottom 10 lists below:

Best Cities to Retire In

1. Orlando, Florida

2. Miami, Florida

3. Minneapolis, Minnesota

4. Tampa, Florida

5. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

6. Scottsdale, Arizona

7. Cincinnati, Ohio

8. St. Petersburg, Florida

9. Casper, Wyoming

10. Atlanta, Georgia

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Worst Cities to Retire In

173. Fontana, California

174. Wichita, Kansas

175. Bridgeport, Connecticut

176. Fresno, California

177. Detroit, Michigan

178. Newark, New Jersey

179. Bakersfield, California, 

180. Rancho Cucamonga, California

181. Stockton, California

182. San Bernardino, California