Takin' Care Of Viz-Ness

Your one-stop shop for data visualizations that explain complicated and cool stuff in digestible ways.

THE FINAL CHAPTER

The Best American Cities To Retire In, Mapped

From cities with better financial safety nets to ones with a better life expectancy, here's a ranking of America's biggest metro areas as potential retirement destinations.

1 year ago · 59.4k reads ·

Using various quality of life metrics, like crime stats, life expectancy, retirement incomes, weather conditions, rents, public infrastructure and more, StorageCafe analyzed the 100 biggest metro areas in the US to determine which ones were the best for prospective retirees.

Key Takeaways

Overall, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in Florida was determined to be the best retirement spot in the US, followed by the Cleveland-Elyria metro area in Ohio.
Life expectation was highest in two California metro areas — San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara.
The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area in Florida had the some of the highest old-age dependency ratio in the country, whereas the rates were lowest in the Provo-Orem metro area in Utah and the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area in Texas.
Retirement incomes per capita were highest in the area Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area (split between DC, VA MD and WV), and at $45,030 were nearly 20 percent higher than the second placed area.

Via Storage Cafe.

Comments

Thullraven 1 year ago

Like someone else said, NJ taxes their people to death and shouldn't be on here. They also have the highest property taxes in the nation. A lot of the other places on this list shouldn't be here. Are you all getting paid by these places? SMH at the ignorance.
EverEddie 1 year ago

NJ has one of the highest tax rates in the nation, along with pensions being taxed and partially tax retirement accounts If you live at a shore resort, you can double that. Tons of Pharmaceutical manufacturing and chemical plants in Northern NJ and while you still pay high taxes in southern NJ you see very little returned in Government services, it mostly funnels to the north to appease big business. I don't consider NJ retiree friendly.
Kris Koppy 1 year ago

Cleveland-Elyria metro area in Ohio….this area of the US has the largest accumulation of companies that spew toxic waste. One of the most toxic places to live in the world.
alan hays 1 year ago

An article on best retirement cities that starts with a coastal Florida flood bowl isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
1. Tony Lombardi 1 year ago
  
  Ft. Myers/Cape Coral? They have got to be kidding. That area was practically wiped from the map by hurricane Ian in 2022. The whole central to south western Florida area is a traffic clogged, overbuilt nightmare. I know because I live there and I'm looking to get out.
2. bkis1969 1 year ago
  
  Amen. Not to mention they are saying the Cleveland area, along with areas in NY are the best for retirement?? Hilarious.
John Doe 1 year ago

If your retirement city of choice is at sea level now, it will be BELOW sea level by the time you retire/die.
1. Bob Whitcombe 1 year ago
  
  That's why they are focused on retirees. It will take 20 years to flood, and as long as they don't go below the 3rd floor during the storms, they should be fine.