Survey Ranks the Best and Worst Cities for Retirees

After decades in the workforce, it seems only natural for retirees to expect financial security in their Golden Years. But gone are the days when Americans looked forward to a worry-free retirement. Many are working longer years with an increasingly unreachable goal of securing financial freedom for the rest of their lives. In 1991, only 8 percent of Americans delayed retirement to age 65. Today, that figure has doubled, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual “Retirement Confidence Survey.”

And the reasons for extending their working lives are somewhat obvious: With a number of local economies still struggling to rebound from the Great Recession, a quarter of respondents to the EBRI’s survey said they can’t afford to retire when they want or plan to. Eighteen percent cited “inadequate finances” as the other primary hurdle to retiring on schedule. Fifty-eight percent of workers and 44 percent of retirees also disclosed having problematic debt levels, which some claim are higher than they were five years ago.

Best Cities to Retire		Worst Cities to Retire
1	Tampa, FL	141	Jersey City, NJ
2	Grand Prairie, TX	142	Baltimore, MD
3	Orlando, FL	143	Fresno, CA
4	St. Petersburg, FL	144	Worcester, MA
5	Scottsdale, AZ	145	Stockton, CA
6	Overland Park, KS	146	Chicago, IL
7	Port St. Lucie, FL	147	New York, NY
8	Cape Coral, FL	148	Philadelphia, PA
9	Plano, TX	149	Newark, NJ
10	Peoria, AZ	150	Providence, RI

It’s no wonder a fifth of American workers approaching retirement age haven’t saved for it, the Federal Reserve reported this past August. More than half of workers surveyed by the EBRI cited cost of living and daily expenses as impediments to saving — or saving more — for retirement. So if simply making ends meet prevents workers from growing a nest egg for the future, what options are left for investing in retirement? One solution is to relocate to an area where retirees can stretch their dollars and live out their lives as comfortably as possible.

To help Americans find the best places to retire, WalletHub analyzed the 150 largest cities in the United States across 25 key metrics. They range from cost of living to job prospects for workers aged 65 and older to the availability of recreational activities. The study also includes an examination of each city’s quality of life and health care conditions. By highlighting the most retirement- and wallet-friendly cities, WalletHub aims to ease the process of finding a new place to call home.

The full report and full ranking of cities is at WalletHub.