The Best Places to Retire in the United States in 2024 (Hint: It’s Not Florida)

Looking for a place to retire? 

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, unveiled the 2023-2024 Best Places to Retire in the United States.

This year’s list evaluated the country’s 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on how well they meet Americans’ retirement expectations, including housing affordability, health care, desirability, and overall happiness – resulting in four new areas in the top five.

Pennsylvania Claims Top 5 Spots

Pennsylvania earned a whopping five of the top five spots in this year’s list, surpassing Florida in overall top 10 appearances. Lancaster, PA moved down two spots but still claimed the 3rd spot due to its scores on health care for seniors, retiree tax rates, and the overall happiness of its residents. Harrisburg, PA rose another top spot after raising a whopping 11 positions to the No. 2 spot last year, claiming the top spot.  Pensacola, FL and Tampa, FL dropped off the top ten list entirely and Daytona Beach, FL became the only Florida city to gain a spot on the top 10 list.

New York

New York surprised everyone by joining the top 10 list this year. New York City has increasingly performed well in the Best Places to Retire rankings. This year its position as a health care powerhouse (No. 1) drove its rise to No. 6 on the overall list, up from No. 14 in 2022-2023. New York City also scores highly in overall happiness (No. 6), desirability (No. 18) and job market (No. 22). These high scores lift New York City, despite its lower rankings for affordability (No. 139) and tax rate (No. 95). If you can afford New York City, it’s an excellent place to retire.

“Over the last year, Americans have observed record-high interest rates in the housing market, steadily increasing cost of goods and extreme weather patterns impacting the living conditions of our nation,” says Beverly Harzog, personal finance expert at U.S. News. “As retirees consider where to spend their golden years, they want areas that not only give them the best bang for their buck, but places where they can live a happy, healthy life. This is why Pennsylvania dominated the Best Places to Retire ranking’s top positions, taking seven of the top 10 spots on the list.”

Affordability is the most heavily weighted of the six factors in the 2024 Best Places to Retire methodology, which also includes happiness, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability and job market ratings. U.S. News expanded its data points in this edition to better encapsulate a place’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition to a survey to determine whether people want to retire in a given metro area, the Desirability Index now includes weather temperateness, which evaluates the number of days annually with moderate temperatures and minimal precipitation. It also includes an establishment-to-population ratio, which assesses the number of restaurants, bars and activities per 1,000 residents. The Affordability Index – which previously focused solely on housing affordability – now factors in price parity, a Bureau of Economic Analysis data point on the general cost of goods within an area.

The six measures factored into this year’s rankings were weighted based on a public survey of individuals across the U.S. who are at or approaching retirement age (45 and older) to find out what matters most to people when they’re considering where to retire. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings.

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Robyn