Most Attractive Cities for Residents Over 60

Florida saw more than three times the influx of retirees than any other state. Many are moving to the St. Pete area.

NEW YORK – 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 10th 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

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

1. 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%

2. 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%

3. 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%

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%

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%

6. 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%

7. 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%

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%

9. 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%

10. 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.

1. 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%

2. 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%

3. 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%

4. 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%

5. 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%

6. 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%

7. 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%

8. 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%

9. 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%

10. 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

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

1. 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%

2. 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%

3. 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%

4. 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%

5. 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%

6. 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%

7. 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%

8. 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%

9. 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%

10. 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.

1. 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%

2. 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%

3. 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%

4. 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%

5. 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%

6. 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%

7. 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%

8. 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%

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%

10. 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.