Top 10 most attractive U.S. cities for residents over 60

By Stacker

Published June 13, 2024 2:19 AM

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

Top 10 most attractive U.S. cities for residents over 60

City center aerial view on Center Street in Mesa, AZ.

As people retire, their goals shift, often causing them to reconsider where they’re living and how they spend their money. Places with a high cost of living, high taxes and cold winters, for example, could influence retirees to move to warmer locations where they can stretch their retirement savings further and enjoy their free time. Thus, many people opt to downsize or even relocate entirely to better facilitate their ideal retirement.

With this in mind, SmartAsset set out to determine which cities and states have proven themselves to be most attractive to retirees. All 50 states and 182 U.S. cities were evaluated based on the number of people aged 60 and over moving in and out.

Key findings

Mesa, AZ gained the most retirees. After accounting for retirees who moved both in and out of Mesa, the net influx for just one year was 4,453 people, which is over 50% more than any other city. Even when adjusting for Mesa’s size relative to other cities, this is still the second-fastest rate of inbound retirees. The year ended with 23% of the population aged 60 and older. At the state level, Arizona saw the second-highest influx of retirees at 23,515.
Florida saw a net influx of more than 77,000 new retirees. This is more than three times the influx to any other state. In total, 28.4% of the state is 60 and older. St. Petersburg was the city that saw the most retirees moving in at a net of 1,662 individuals. In tenth place overall, Clearwater has the highest rate of retirees moving in relative to the size of its total population.
More than 30% of Maine’s population is at retirement age. Maine has the most retirees with 30.6% of the population aged 60 and older. Vermont and Delaware are close behind with 29.8% and 28.5% of their populations, respectively. Across all states, the average rate of retirees among the population is 24.6%. Utah has the fewest retirees at only 16.7% of the population.
Relative to their total population, retirees are flocking out of these cities. Cambridge, MA has the fastest rate of retirees moving out, with a net loss of 1,674 people over 60 in 2022. Wilmington, NC is losing the second most retirees, relative to its size, with a net loss of 1,097. Longmont, CO ranks third in this metric with a net loss of 683 individuals.

SmartAsset

Top 10 cities that gained the most retirees

Table showing Top 20 cities where retirees are moving.

Cities are ranked by the highest positive net movement of migrations of people aged 60 and up.

Mesa, Arizona
- Retirees moved in: 6,969
- Retirees moved out: 2,516
- Net movement: 4,453
- Population aged 60+: 118,004
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.0%
San Antonio, Texas
- Retirees moved in: 4,102
- Retirees moved out: 1,166
- Net movement: 2,936
- Population aged 60+: 272,432
- Percent of population aged 60+: 18.5%
Henderson, Nevada
- Retirees moved in: 5,030
- Retirees moved out: 2,638
- Net movement: 2,392
- Population aged 60+: 94,125
- Percent of population aged 60+: 28.4%
St. Petersburg, Florida
- Retirees moved in: 2,698
- Retirees moved out: 1,036
- Net movement: 1,662
- Population aged 60+: 74,564
- Percent of population aged 60+: 28.5%
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Retirees moved in: 1,514
- Retirees moved out: 319
- Net movement: 1,195
- Population aged 60+: 24,180
- Percent of population aged 60+: 14.9%
Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Retirees moved in: 1,917
- Retirees moved out: 743
- Net movement: 1,174
- Population aged 60+: 42,253
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.0%
Houston, Texas
- Retirees moved in: 4,675
- Retirees moved out: 3,536
- Net movement: 1,139
- Population aged 60+: 411,277
- Percent of population aged 60+: 17.8%
Fort Worth, Texas
- Retirees moved in: 2,119
- Retirees moved out: 989
- Net movement: 1,130
- Population aged 60+: 158,332
- Percent of population aged 60+: 16.5%
Atlanta, Georgia
- Retirees moved in: 2,321
- Retirees moved out: 1,263
- Net movement: 1,058
- Population aged 60+: 82,271
- Percent of population aged 60+: 16.5%
Clearwater, Florida
- Retirees moved in: 1,519
- Retirees moved out: 468
- Net movement: 1,051
- Population aged 60+: 34,801
- Percent of population aged 60+: 29.7%

Top 10 cities that lost the most retirees

Cities are ranked by the net emigration of retirees out of a state.

New York, New York
- Retirees moved in: 6,194
- Retirees moved out: 28,696
- Net movement: -22,502
- Population aged 60+: 1,890,434
- Percent of population aged 60+: 22.7%
Los Angeles, California
- Retirees moved in: 3,731
- Retirees moved out: 9,280
- Net movement: -5,549
- Population aged 60+: 771,266
- Percent of population aged 60+: 20.2%
Chicago, Illinois
- Retirees moved in: 2,460
- Retirees moved out: 5,711
- Net movement: -3,251
- Population aged 60+: 523,988
- Percent of population aged 60+: 19.7%
Portland, Oregon
- Retirees moved in: 2,292
- Retirees moved out: 4,082
- Net movement: -1,790
- Population aged 60+: 125,499
- Percent of population aged 60+: 19.8%
Anchorage, Alaska
- Retirees moved in: 379
- Retirees moved out: 2,127
- Net movement: -1,748
- Population aged 60+: 51,664
- Percent of population aged 60+: 18.0%
Washington, District of Columbia
- Retirees moved in: 3,624
- Retirees moved out: 5,336
- Net movement: -1,712
- Population aged 60+: 120,337
- Percent of population aged 60+: 17.9%
Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Retirees moved in: 65
- Retirees moved out: 1,739
- Net movement: -1,674
- Population aged 60+: 19,481
- Percent of population aged 60+: 16.4%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Retirees moved in: 1,982
- Retirees moved out: 3,505
- Net movement: -1,523
- Population aged 60+: 319,164
- Percent of population aged 60+: 20.4%
Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Retirees moved in: 2,157
- Retirees moved out: 3,627
- Net movement: -1,470
- Population aged 60+: 101,614
- Percent of population aged 60+: 20.9%
San Diego, California
- Retirees moved in: 2,952
- Retirees moved out: 4,375
- Net movement: -1,423
- Population aged 60+: 275,358
- Percent of population aged 60+: 19.9%

SmartAsset

Top 10 states that gained the most retirees

Table showing Top 20 states where retirees are moving.

States are ranked by the highest positive net movement of migrations of people aged 60 and up.

Florida
- Retirees moved in: 171,343
- Retirees moved out: 94,053
- Net movement: 77,290
- Population aged 60+: 6,314,895
- Percent of population aged 60+: 28.4%
Arizona
- Retirees moved in: 61,688
- Retirees moved out: 38,173
- Net movement: 23,515
- Population aged 60+: 1,838,642
- Percent of population aged 60+: 25.0%
South Carolina
- Retirees moved in: 40,663
- Retirees moved out: 19,768
- Net movement: 20,895
- Population aged 60+: 1,376,023
- Percent of population aged 60+: 26.0%
Texas
- Retirees moved in: 68,754
- Retirees moved out: 50,012
- Net movement: 18,742
- Population aged 60+: 5,699,843
- Percent of population aged 60+: 19.0%
North Carolina
- Retirees moved in: 43,619
- Retirees moved out: 32,280
- Net movement: 11,339
- Population aged 60+: 2,565,100
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.0%
Georgia
- Retirees moved in: 38,583
- Retirees moved out: 28,348
- Net movement: 10,235
- Population aged 60+: 2,299,476
- Percent of population aged 60+: 21.1%
Alabama
- Retirees moved in: 18,719
- Retirees moved out: 10,126
- Net movement: 8,593
- Population aged 60+: 1,254,589
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.7%
Tennessee
- Retirees moved in: 31,253
- Retirees moved out: 22,924
- Net movement: 8,329
- Population aged 60+: 1,677,613
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.8%
Nevada
- Retirees moved in: 24,800
- Retirees moved out: 18,709
- Net movement: 6,091
- Population aged 60+: 730,781
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.0%
Kentucky
- Retirees moved in: 14,531
- Retirees moved out: 8,653
- Net movement: 5,878
- Population aged 60+: 1,097,872
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.3%

Top 10 states that lost the most retirees

States are ranked by the net emigration of retirees out of a state.

California
- Retirees moved in: 48,470
- Retirees moved out: 117,511
- Net movement: -69,041
- Population aged 60+: 8,492,450
- Percent of population aged 60+: 21.8%
New York
- Retirees moved in: 24,314
- Retirees moved out: 75,614
- Net movement: -51,300
- Population aged 60+: 4,881,715
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.8%
Illinois
- Retirees moved in: 21,371
- Retirees moved out: 44,174
- Net movement: -22,803
- Population aged 60+: 2,974,355
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.6%
New Jersey
- Retirees moved in: 22,800
- Retirees moved out: 35,782
- Net movement: -12,982
- Population aged 60+: 2,244,217
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.2%
Colorado
- Retirees moved in: 21,386
- Retirees moved out: 33,477
- Net movement: -12,091
- Population aged 60+: 1,275,099
- Percent of population aged 60+: 21.8%
Washington
- Retirees moved in: 25,707
- Retirees moved out: 35,202
- Net movement: -9,495
- Population aged 60+: 1,789,686
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.0%
Maryland
- Retirees moved in: 17,780
- Retirees moved out: 27,200
- Net movement: -9,420
- Population aged 60+: 1,459,662
- Percent of population aged 60+: 23.7%
Massachusetts
- Retirees moved in: 15,641
- Retirees moved out: 23,791
- Net movement: -8,150
- Population aged 60+: 1,738,871
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.9%
Michigan
- Retirees moved in: 20,246
- Retirees moved out: 25,021
- Net movement: -4,775
- Population aged 60+: 2,593,502
- Percent of population aged 60+: 25.8%
Minnesota
- Retirees moved in: 13,600
- Retirees moved out: 18,363
- Net movement: -4,763
- Population aged 60+: 1,389,080
- Percent of population aged 60+: 24.3%

Data and methodology

To find both the states and cities where retirees are moving, SmartAsset analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s 2022 1-year American Community Survey.

This study considers the populations aged 60 and older (for these purposes, retirees) in 182 of the largest cities in the U.S. for which data was available. We similarly found net migration for each city by subtracting the number of retirees who moved out of the city to a different state in 2022 from the number of people aged 60 and older who moved into the city from a different state. Cities with the most inbound retirees ranked highest.

Limitations

Some limitations of the data available for this study include:

The data does not reflect migration within the same state. It only reflects movement from a city in one state to a city in another state. For example, if a person moved to Phoenix from Scottsdale, they would not be factored into our data.
Some retirees might live in multiple places throughout the year; this is not reflected in our metrics.
Not all people 60 and older are retirees.

This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.

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