This U.S. City Is One of the Most Desirable Places to Retire — and No, It's Not in Florida A recent ranking conducted by Moody's Analytics broke down the top spots for retirees.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Austin, Texas is attracting thousands of retirees thanks to the warm weather and low cost of living.
- Not a single city in Florida made the top five list of cities with a large number of incoming retirees.
Retiring to Florida might be the cliché for seniors in the U.S., but some of them have their sights set on a different state.
Many retirees are flocking to Texas for their next move, specifically the city of Austin, which drew the most retired people between 2010 and 2020, according to a recent Moody's Analytics ranking reported by TheStreet.
Related: Top 20 States For Retirees That Are 'Better' Than Florida
During the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Americans relocated to the Lone Star state, often attracted by its no-income tax policy, employment opportunities bolstered by the tech and energy sectors, and overall low cost of living, per USA Today.
Of course, the latter is a significant advantage for seniors hoping to make their money go further in retirement. Roughly 50,000 people were moving to Austin each year before the pandemic, and the city's senior population almost doubled in that same period, per TheStreet.
Austin offers retirees warm weather at a more affordable price than many Florida cities: The median rent for all bedrooms and property types in Austin is $2,200 compared to $3,300 in Miami, Florida, according to recent data from Zillow.
Retirees are also heading to Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Boise, Idaho; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina — with the latter two cities seeing their number of retirees jump at a rate 75% higher than the rest of the U.S., per TheStreet.
Not one city in Florida made the top five list of cities with a large number of incoming retirees, according to the outlet.
Related: These Are the 10 Best Places to Retire in the U.S.: Report
"It was interesting to me how geographically dispersed the list was," Moody's Analytics associate economist Nick Luettke said in a statement. "The growth was spread to different parts of the country outside of the traditional retirement locations.
