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

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock 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. Top 10 cities that gained the most retirees SmartAsset 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% Top 10 states that gained the most retirees SmartAsset 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.