Top 10 Cities for Retired Homebuyers

Regardless of one’s age, it is general knowledge that planning ahead, and as early as possible, for a future of financial security is important. This rule of thumb is especially significant when it comes to finding the best place to buy a home and settle into this stage of life.

To help the population of retired Americans find the right city to spend their golden years, WalletHub released 2017’s Best and Worst Places to Retire report, which compares the 150 most populated cities across four key dimensions, including affordability, activities, quality of life, and health care.

With cost being a significant factor in retirement, the analysis assumed retirees would rely on a fixed income, so the lower their expenses; the better retirees will find a particular city a suitable market.

According to, Mariette O’Malley, Partner at O’Malley & O’Malley, LLP and Contract Professor for Dalton Education LLC and one of WalletHub’s industry experts, financial differences between a retiree’s home state and another state is the number one factor most of her clients ask her to assess.

“Retirees often think that moving to a new place—a warmer climate, nearer the children—will make for a happier retirement, but the relocating is costly, especially if you choose wrong,” she said.

So which cities ranked at the top for this growing population of relocating homebuyers to consider?

It doesn’t seem surprising that cities in the Sunshine State earned the top three spots on the list. Orlando, Tampa, and Miami, Florida rank as the first through third destinations for retired homebuyers to consider.

Following in chronological order is Scottsdale, Arizona, which ranked as the city with the highest percentage of the population aged 65 and older. Next are the cities of Atlanta, Georgia, Salt Lake City, Utah, Honolulu, Hawaii, Denver, Colorado, Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Want to find out how other cities ranked? Click here.