Where Are U.S. Retirees Flocking To?

U.S. News & World Report has unveiled its 2024 Best Places to Retire in the United States, evaluating the country's 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on how well they meet Americans' expectations for retirement, with measures including affordability, healthcare, desirability, retiree taxes, job market, and overall happiness.

The Keystone State of Pennsylvania dominated the top five in this year's list, and secured seven spots within the top 10. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania rose one spot to take over the top of the rankings due to its scores on healthcare for seniors, retiree tax rates, and overall happiness of its residents.

Coming in at second place was Reading, Pennsylvania, moving up six positions from last year’s poll, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania fell from 2023’s top spot in places to retire to number three in this year’s poll. Scranton, Pennsylvania, home of TV’s “The Office,” saw the sole double-digit jump into the top five, rising 13 positions to number four, while Allentown, Pennsylvania climbed four positions to fifth in the poll.

As far as Harrisburg is concerned, in 2022, the national average median priced home was $383,883, while the average price in Harrisburg was over $150,000 less at $223,842.

"Over the last year, Americans have observed record-high interest rates in the housing market, steadily increasing cost of goods and extreme weather patterns impacting the living conditions of our nation," said Beverly Harzog, Personal Finance Expert at U.S. News. "As retirees consider where to spend their golden years, they want areas that not only give them the best bang for their buck, but places where they can live a happy, healthy life. This is why Pennsylvania dominated the Best Places to Retire ranking's top positions, taking seven of the top 10 spots on the list."

Florida scored highly as a desirable place to retire, with six places appearing in the top 25. The 2024 ranking's adjustments made for affordability and retiree taxes allowed Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to soar 19 spots to 17th. Other notable top 25 increases include Trenton, New Jersey, which moved up 25 positions to 20th, and Rochester, New York, which rose 29 positions to the number 21 spot.

Affordability is the most heavily weighted of the six factors in the 2024 Best Places to Retire methodology, which also includes happiness, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability, and job market ratings. U.S. News expanded its data points in this edition to better encapsulate a place's strengths and weaknesses. In addition to a survey to determine whether people want to retire in a given metro area, the Desirability Index now includes weather temperateness, which evaluates the number of days annually with moderate temperatures and minimal precipitation. It also includes an establishment-to-population ratio, which assesses the number of restaurants, bars, and activities per 1,000 residents.

The Affordability Index–which previously focused solely on housing affordability–now factors in price parity, a Bureau of Economic Analysis data point on the general cost of goods within an area.

The six measures factored into this year's rankings were weighted based on a public survey of individuals across the U.S. who are at or approaching retirement age (45 and older) to find out what matters most to people when they're considering where to retire. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News' Best Hospitals rankings.

2024 U.S. News Best Places to Retire–Top 10

1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
2. Reading, Pennsylvania
3. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
4. Scranton, Pennsylvania
5. Allentown, Pennsylvania
6. New York City, New York
7. York, Pennsylvania
8. Daytona Beach, Florida
9. Youngstown, Ohio
10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Click here for more information and the full list of 2024 Best Places to Retire in the U.S.