These are the best cities for retirees in 2025, according to data
FILE-A senior couple sit on a park bench in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Retirement is something most Americans look forward to when they decide to leave the workforce to embark on a new chapter in life.
While finances can play a significant role for retirees, another consideration for them is finding a place to call home that offers them the comfort and affordability to accommodate their new life of leisure.
RELATED: These states require the most, least amount of money to retire comfortably: Study
WalletHub released a new study of the best cities for retirees by comparing 182 U.S. cities using multiple data points including cost of living and retired taxpayer-friendliness.
Top 10 cities for retirement
Why you should care:
WalletHub ranked the best cities for retirees using four key metrics: affordability, activities, quality of life and health care. Each city was graded on a 100-point scale with a score of 100 representing the best place for retirees.
Here are the best cities for retirees:
- Orlando
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Miami
- Tampa
- Atlanta
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Cincinnati
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Casper, Wyoming
To see the complete list of cities, click here.
What the report outlines about the top three cities for retirees
Dig deeper:
Researchers ranked Orlando, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Minneapolis, Minnesota as its top three cities for retirement, and here’s what their findings detail about these areas.
Orlando
Orlando, Florida, ranked as the number one city for retirees, with one of the main reasons being how tax-friendly it is. Orlando is also the ninth-cheapest city for homemaker services and the 20th-cheapest for adult day health care compared to other cities in WalletHub’s report.
According to WalletHub, Orlando offers a variety of recreational activities for retirees, ranking as the third-best city for recreation overall, with many music venues, fishing facilities, art galleries and adult volunteer activities. Meanwhile, Orlando has sixth-highest for home health care facilities per capita and has the seventh-best hospitals for older people.
Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale, Arizona, ranked second on WalletHub’s list. It ranks near the top of U.S. cities for adult volunteer activities, art galleries and public and municipal golf courses per capita, and it has the 55th-most museums and 15th-most book clubs per capita.
The area is also tax-friendly with no estate or inheritance taxes and no income taxes. According to WalletHub, the city also ranks fourth in the nation for mild weather, and second among the most caring cities—offering residents a welcoming community and year-round comfort.
Minneapolis
WalletHub ranked Minneapolis third on its list of best places to retire in part because it has a sizable percentage of jobs that are easy to perform even for older Americans. WalletHub noted that retired people choose to continue to work for supplementary income, or to have something to keep them busy. In Minneapolis, more than 22% of the working population is 65 years old or older.
Moreover, the city also provides a friendly environment for retirees, ranking as the 34th-most caring city in the U.S. and it also has the eighth-best hospital system, with a high number of nursing homes per capita. Minneapolis also ranks eighth in the U.S. for the number of recreation and senior centers, offering retirees chances for community interaction and activities.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by WalletHub, which created its rankings of cities using four key metrics: affordability, activities, quality of life and health care. Each city was graded on a 100-point scale with a score of 100 representing the best place for retirees. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.