A recent AARP survey finds over half of adults over 50 are worried about having enough money for retirement
Florida remained a very retirement-friendly state in 2024, with five locales in the Sunshine State appearing among WalletHub’s ten best retirement cities.
Orlando, which is located in central Florida, nabbed the overall first-place title on WalletHub’s “Best & Worst Places to Retire” ranking this year.
The personal finance website indicated factors like its activity options and elder health care helped Orlando earn the title of best city to retire. Florida’s tax policies also played a major part, according to WalletHub.
The city’s total score was 61.49.
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This year, five other states had representation in the top 10 in addition to dominant Florida.
The list included a total of 182 U.S. cities. To determine the overall position of the cities on the list, WalletHub said it relied on several dozen metrics within the categories of affordability, activities, quality of life and health care.
According to WalletHub, 2024’s ten locales most favorable for retirees included:
1. Orlando, Florida
Orlando Florida, took the top spot for the best place to celebrate New Year’s Eve with some of the lowest price options and highest nightlife options. (iStock / iStock)
2. Miami, Florida
MIAMI, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 29: In an aerial view, the City of Miami skyline, where many renters reside in the apartment buildings on September 29, 2021 in Miami, Florida. According to an analysis from Realtor.com, rents nationwide are rising, with th ( Joe Raedle/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
3. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Aerial View of Minneapolis and the Mississippi river in summer (iStock / iStock)
4. Tampa, Florida
Aerial drone View of sprawling Tampa Bay Skyline, Florida. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
5. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale Coastline Aerial (Photo by Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
6. Scottsdale, Arizona
Downtown Scottsdale and suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, with the White Tank Mountain Range in the background (iStock / iStock)
7. Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati has seen a 125% increase in vacation rental demand, according to Vrbo’s report. (iStock) (iStock)
8. St. Petersburg, Florida
Sunrise on St. Petersburg Florida facing Atlantic Ocean explodes into orange color. (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
9. Casper, Wyoming
CASPER, WY – JUNE 11, 2022: The last rays of sunlight fall on local favorite Jonny Js Diner on June 11, 2022 in Casper, Wyoming. Wyoming is a Republican stronghold and Liz Cheney (R-WY) is facing an uphill battle to retain her seat in Congress after (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
10. Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia, metropolitan area was found to be the best cold-weather winter vacation destination this year, according to WalletHub. Atlanta is pictured. (iStock / iStock)
“It’s important to choose wisely when picking where to retire, as many retirees are on a fixed income,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so. In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees.”
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Of the top 10 best retirement cities, Miami received the highest rank for the main activities category, at No. 2.
Two of the other top-10 cities landed No. 3 placements for different main categories that WalletHub looked at to help formulate its list. Scottsdale came in third-place for quality of life. Meanwhile, Casper received that ranking for affordability, the personal finance website found.
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WalletHub’s best cities to retire comes after the personal finance website identified Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Delaware and Wyoming as top states for retirement earlier in the year.
In April, Northwestern Mutual found Americans think they must have $1.46 million set aside in order to “comfortably” retire. That was up 15% from the prior year.
