The U.S. News annual ranking of the best places to retire can point Americans who are considering where to spend their post-work years, and their advisors, to cities that offer top-notch health care, affordable housing and a good overall quality of life.
The latest ranking analyzes 859 cities, up from 150 last year. This allows smaller and more affordable cities to stand out, U.S. News said.
The 2026 rankings reflect shifting priorities among retirees. For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, quality of life scored higher than affordability in the weighting survey. Today’s retirees value overall well-being and connection to community over cost alone, U.S. News found.
Rankings are based on overall retirement scores calculated for each area, a weighted average of six indexes. The overall retirement score and each index score were calculated on a 10-point scale.
Researchers assigned weights for each index based on a nationwide online survey U.S. News conducted in March among 3,500 people 45 and older who were asked to indicate what attributes of a retirement destination were most important to them, chosen from a predefined list of options.
Based on survey scoring, U.S. News assigned the following weights to the indexes in compiling the overall retirement score for each city:
Quality of Life Index – 27% weight: Based on crime rates, weather temperateness, environmental risk, culture/leisure accessibility, air quality and walkability
Value Index – 24% weight: Represents costs associated with owning a home and living in the referenced city.
Health Care Quality Index – 16% weight: Measures the availability of top-rated health care for seniors in each city, and excludes children’s hospitals. The index is scored based on the quantity and quality of U.S. News-ranked and -rated facilities within city limits and within 15-mile bands. With hospital closures on the rise across the country, this year’s health care quality score gave additional consideration to nearby general hospitals in addition to specialized medical facilities.
Retiree Taxes Index – 16% weight: To estimate tax friendliness of each city for retirees, researchers created a composite retirement tax score based on a Sales Tax Index, Income Tax Index and Property Tax Index as provided by Applied Geographic Solutions.
Senior Population/Migration Index – 9% weight: Considers both the current overall 55 and older population within individual cities and 55 and older migration patterns based on the state level. It provides a vote-by-your-feet approach to determining desirable locations for retiree-aged individuals.
Job Market Index – 8% weight: Many retired do not exit the workforce entirely, which means that living in a community with ample opportunities for full- or part-time employment can be important. The index measures the strength of each city’s job market, based on ease of finding employment and earning potential.
See the gallery for the best place to retire in 2026, according to U.S. News.
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