These states and cities attract the most retirees

(Stacker) – 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.

SmartAsset

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.

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%

SmartAsset

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.

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.

Please follow and like us: