TAMPA, Fla. — Florida is unarguably one of the retirement capitals of the world. Warm weather, a lack of state income tax, and multiple activities are just a few of the attractions that draw retirees to the Sunshine State in droves.
Among the state’s many, many favorable destinations for living out one’s post-work years, Orlando and Tampa are receiving some extra attention. A new report from financial website WalletHub has named those cities the best and second-best, respectively, for retirees — not just in Florida, but in the nation.
What You Need To Know
- Florida attracts more retirees than any other state
- Report names Orlando, Tampa the top 2 cities for retirees in nation country
In building its ranking, WalletHub looked at more than 180 municipalities and took 46 factors into account, drilling down into areas like affordability, quality of life and access to activities and healthcare. Some metrics considered include cost of living, “tax-friendliness,” public golf courses per capita, percentage of population 64 and over, and crime rates, to name just a few. Health care criteria were also weighted heavily in the rankings, from costs to number of top-rated hospitals, concentration of geriatric specialists and beyond.
Charleston, South Carolina; Miami; and Fort Lauderdale rounded out the survey’s top five; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Stockton, California; and (surprise!) Newark, New Jersey ended up at the bottom of the list. St. Petersburg landed at lucky No. 13, while Clearwater doesn’t appear among the list of cities considered.
According to census data, nearly 150,000 seniors aged 60 and over moved into Florida in 2018, making it far and away the state that welcomed the most retirees, with Arizona trailing a distant second.