Top 10 Nationwide Results
- Tucson, AZ Metro Area
The Tucson metro area ranked as the best place to retire due to its low cost of living, the high percentage of retirees overall in the total population, and temperate weather conditions. On average, the chance to see the sunshine is 85% on a given day and the average total snowfall in a year is only 1 inch.
- Redding, CA Metro Area
If you are one who cannot live without sunshine, Redding would be one of the best places to move after you retire. Besides an 88% average of sunny days a year, the median rent for two bedroom units is $930, making this area an affordable option for retirees. It is a paradise for outdoor lovers because it has mountains all around and a river running through it.
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area
Tampa’s metro area, ranking as 3rd on our list, is famous for its beaches and world-class restaurants. The accessibility to doctors is almost 60% higher than the nationwide average and medical research is highly prioritized here. Sandy beaches, gorgeous sunsets, and readily available healthcare, what more could a retiree ask for?
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metro Area
Often referred as the “Valley of the Sun”, this metro area is very hot most of the year with an average annual minimum temperature of 63.5 F°. Affordability wise, the median rent for 2 bedroom units is $1,078, the median home cost is not rocketing high, and the city asks for a relatively low median real estate tax.
- Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metro Area
The category that especially stood out in this metro area is affordability. Similar to the Tampa metro area, the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent metro has beautiful weather and beaches as well, but with a lower median rent for two bedroom units, at $710, which is almost half of the rent in Tampa!
- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area
The biggest city in this area, Las Vegas, is known to be one of the best places for entertainment. Ranking as the sixth best place for retirement, this metro area offers many sunny, warm days throughout the year. Enjoy that sunshine by renting a home with a pool.
- Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metro Area
This metro area offers many affordable housing options. The median rent for two bedroom units is only $662, the median home values are $157,000, for homes with a mortgage, and $130,000, for homes without a mortgage. Enjoy spending time in the great outdoors at any one of the many lakes, streams, and hiking trails available.
- Lake Charles, LA Metro Area
The Lake Charles metro area ranks as the 8th best place to retire. Besides the relatively low cost of living and temperate weather, this area also has great entertainment options including many art museums, galleries, and a historical downtown.
- Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area
This metro area, located in Southeast Texas, has a 50% higher accessibility rate to doctors and physicians than the national average. It has a low crime rate so retirees can rest easy here. While quaint as this area is, if you miss the ‘big city life’ Houston is located only an hour away from the Beaumont metro so you can visit there anytime you want.
- Macon, GA Metro Area
The only place from Georgia, the Macon metro takes the final spot on our ranking. This area has affordable housing options, with the median rent for two bedroom units at $635, low cost of living, and easy access to healthcare.
Methodology
Zumper’s List of Best Places to Retire provides a comprehensive list of metropolitan areas and considers the factors that would be important for retirees. We collected the latest data available from U.S. Census Bureau, FBI Crime Report, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) and Zumper’s database to investigate factors such as weather, crime & safety, access to affordable housing and access to doctors.
After collecting the relevant data, we created standardized values for each factor and each metropolitan area, and then excluded the areas that we don’t have sufficient and/or up-to-date data. We assigned weights to each factor focusing on the factors’ contribution to our analysis. Finally, we standardized the final scores and assigned grades for the scores in certain intervals.
Factors: %population over 65 years old, median income of all households, housing cost/household income, median value of owner occupied houses with and without a mortgage, median real estate taxes, the number of doctor/physician offices per capita from U.S Census Bureau;
Total Crime Rate per 100,000 inhabitants; based on the violent and property crime rates from FBI Crime Report 2015;
Annual %average possible sunshine, annual average minimum temperature, annual average total snowfall from NOAA;
The median rent for two bedroom units is collected from Zumper’s data.
You can see our indexed full data for 117 metro areas that we ranked below:
Full Data
(scroll to the right for full chart)
| Pos. | City | Price | M/M % | Y/Y % | Price | M/M % | Y/Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | $1,100 | 1.90% | -2.70% | $1,400 | 1.40% | -2.80% |
| 1 | Brushy Creek | $1,100 | 0.00% | 8.90% | $1,430 | -1.40% | 10.00% |
| 1 | Leander | $1,100 | -0.90% | 14.60% | $1,430 | 2.10% | 12.60% |
| 2 | Hutto | $1,050 | 1.90% | 10.50% | $1,250 | -5.30% | -6.00% |
| 3 | Cedar Park | $1,030 | 0.00% | 5.10% | $1,320 | 4.80% | 3.10% |
| 4 | Pflugerville | $1,010 | 0.00% | 1.00% | $1,290 | 0.80% | 0.00% |
| 5 | Georgetown | $1,000 | -4.80% | -2.00% | $1,260 | -5.30% | 4.10% |
| 6 | Buda | $990 | 3.10% | -1.00% | $1,100 | 4.80% | -12.00% |
| 6 | Round Rock | $990 | 1.00% | 6.50% | $1,220 | -0.80% | 6.10% |
| 7 | Kyle | $980 | 0.00% | 4.30% | $1,310 | 4.00% | 3.10% |
| 7 | Wells Branch | $980 | 5.40% | 3.20% | $1,240 | 5.10% | 2.50% |
| 8 | Jollyville | $960 | -2.00% | 1.10% | $1,200 | 0.00% | -0.80% |
| 9 | San Marcos | $880 | 1.10% | 4.80% | $950 | -3.10% | -1.00% |
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
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