What Are the Best Places to Retire in the U.S.?
There is no single best place to retire, but there is a short list of things that decide whether a place works, and most people only find out about two of them after they have moved. Taxes and weather get all the attention. Healthcare access, the cost of running a household and whether you can still get around without driving matter more over twenty years.
Here is how to think about the decision, and the places that keep coming up when people actually make it.
Taxes Are Simpler Than the Headlines Suggest
Nine states have no personal income tax, and Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Nevada and Wyoming are the ones retirees most often look at. That is real money, but it is only one line of the budget.
States without an income tax raise revenue elsewhere, usually through property tax and sales tax. Texas has no income tax and some of the highest effective property tax rates in the country. Florida’s property taxes are moderate but its home insurance is not, and on the coast it has risen sharply.
The useful comparison is the whole annual cost of living in a specific house in a specific county, not the state’s headline tax rate. Two towns an hour apart in the same state can differ by thousands of dollars a year once insurance and county rates are in.
Separately, check how a state treats retirement income. Some states exempt Social Security and pension income entirely, some tax it, and a state with an income tax that exempts retirement income can be cheaper than one without.
Healthcare Access Is the One People Underestimate
This is the factor that quietly determines whether a place still works at 80.
What matters is not the presence of a hospital but the distance to a full service one, whether the area has specialists rather than only primary care, and whether local practices are accepting new Medicare patients at all. In a lot of fast growing retirement areas, they are not, and the wait for a new patient appointment can run to months.
Before committing to somewhere rural or newly popular, call two or three local practices and ask directly whether they are taking new Medicare patients. It is a five minute check that tells you more than any ranking.
The Places That Keep Coming Up
Florida remains the default for good reasons: no income tax, no winter, and enough retirees already there that the services exist. The trade offs are insurance costs, summer humidity and hurricane season. The Gulf coast around Sarasota and Naples is the expensive end; the interior around Ocala and Lakeland is where the value is.
Arizona gets you dry heat instead of humid heat, which suits a lot of people with joint pain, plus mild winters and no hurricanes. The Phoenix metro has excellent medical infrastructure. Summer is genuinely severe and the whole state depends on Colorado River water, which is a long term question worth reading about.
The Carolinas have become the middle path: four mild seasons, lower costs than the Northeast, strong medical centers around Charlotte, Raleigh and Charleston, and a choice between coast and mountains. Growth has pushed prices up considerably in the last few years.
Tennessee offers no income tax, low property tax and real seasons, with Nashville and Knoxville providing the services. Summers are humid and the state has an active tornado season.
Texas works on income tax and space, less well on property tax and summer heat. The Hill Country west of Austin is the part retirees usually mean.
Smaller college towns deserve a mention across all of these. They tend to combine a teaching hospital, cultural life, walkability and stable property values in a way that purpose built retirement communities often do not.
Visit in the Worst Month
Anywhere is pleasant in October. Visit Phoenix in July, Florida in August and the Carolinas in February, and you will learn something a week in spring will never tell you.
Rent before you buy if you possibly can. Six months in a place answers questions no amount of research will, and it costs far less than selling a house you regret.
Two things are worth checking that rarely appear in rankings. First, whether the state has a homestead exemption or a property tax cap for older residents, because in some states that is worth more than the income tax difference. Second, how far you will be from the people you actually want to see. A great many retirees move for climate and move again five years later to be near family, and the second move is the expensive one.
Getting the Car There
Most retirement moves involve at least one vehicle that nobody wants to drive across the country, and often two vehicles and only one driver.
Shipping one and flying is usually the easier answer, and on a long move it is competitive with driving once fuel, three nights of hotels, meals and the wear on the car are counted honestly. Allow one to two weeks of lead time, longer between January and March when the routes into Florida and Arizona are busiest.
If you are moving somewhere you will spend only part of the year, our guide to lake communities to retire in covers the seasonal version of the same decision.
Common Questions
Which states have no income tax? Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Check property, sales and insurance costs before treating that as a saving.
Does a no income tax state always cost less? No. Property tax, sales tax and home insurance often make up the difference, and some income tax states exempt retirement income entirely.
What do people most often get wrong? Healthcare access. Call local practices and ask whether they are taking new Medicare patients before you commit.
Should I rent first? If you can, yes. Six months in a place tells you what research cannot, particularly about summer.
Is shipping a car cheaper than driving it? On a long move, often yes once fuel, hotels, meals and vehicle wear are counted, and it is far less tiring.
Get a Quote
Call Ship A Car, Inc. at (866) 821-4555 with both zip codes and your date range, or price the move with the instant calculator.
