Indeed, Florida hosts some of the best spots to retire, at least according to a new ranking from the real-estate website Realtor.com. Realtor.com ranked the top 10 places to retire, looking at a combination of housing prices, median ages, and real-estate listings that point to a retiree-friendly area.
While Florida is showing up and showing out, you don't necessarily have to head south to find an ideal post-career destination — your affordable retirement might just be down the Jersey Shore.
Here are Realtor.com's top 10 spots to retire, what it costs to live in each place, and what the places are best known for.
10. Whiting, New Jersey
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 78%
Median age of residents: 69
Median list price: $179,000
Known for: With by far the cheapest median list price of the top 10, Whiting, located in the Pine Barrens, is home to more than 33,000 residents, and its draws include plentiful greenery, relatively low prices, and close proximity to Philadelphia and New York City.
9. Laguna Woods, California
Laguna Woods.Matt Gush
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 99%
Median age of residents: 75
Median list price: $409,900
Known for: Laguna Woods in Orange County has cheaper retirement-friendly listings than the rest of the county, drawing beach lovers and nature enthusiasts given its proximity to seaside spots such as Newport Beach and Dana Point.
8. Sun City, California
Menifee, California.Matt Gush
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 86%
Median age of residents: 58
Median list price: $370,000
Known for: Sun City — a neighborhood in the city of Menifee in California's Riverside County — is home to retirement facilities such as Pacifica Senior Living and hosts more than 40 social clubs.
7. Seal Beach, California
Seal Beach.Kelly Bourquin
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 72%
Median age of residents: 61
Median list price: $369,000
Known for: Located in Orange County, Seal Beach is known for its moderate weather that rarely surpasses 90 degrees Fahrenheit, its close proximity to Long Beach, and the wildlife at the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. California has no state Social Security taxes, meaning retirees may feel slightly more inclined to spend at the many restaurants along Main Street.
6. Monroe, New Jersey
Monroe.FotosForTheFuture
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 70%
Median age of residents: 56
Median list price: $424,000
Known for: Monroe, about 15 miles east of Princeton, boasts condos priced in the $200,000s with quick access to Philadelphia, New York City, Atlantic City, and state parks such as Cheesequake State Park.
5. Manchester, New Jersey
Manchester.Andrew F. Kazmierski
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 83%
Median age of residents: 65
Median list price: $309,900
Known for: Manchester, a township east of Philadelphia near the Atlantic Ocean, has relatively affordable retiree-friendly listings at various 55-and-over communities, each with amenities such as clubhouses, indoor pools, and fitness centers. Residents get all four seasons and lots of open space, though taxes are rather high compared with other states.
4. The Villages, Florida
The Villages.Michael Warren/Getty Images
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 84%
Median age of residents: 71
Median list price: $315,000
Known for: The Villages experienced a population boom of 4.7% from July 2022 to July 2023. The giant complex's more than 50 golf courses, diverse restaurants, and several town squares — all accessible for $195 a month — have driven this quick growth among the 55-and-over community.
3. King City, Oregon
Parts of King City border the Tualatin River.Justin Bartels
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 81%
Median age of residents: 63
Median list price: $375,000
Known for: Twelve miles outside downtown Portland, King City is in the Tualatin Valley. It was first established as a retirement community in the '60s but is now considered a quiet suburb of Portland.
2. Green Valley, Arizona
Green Valley.Manuela Durson
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 83%
Median age of residents: 74
Median list price: $349,900
Known for: Green Valley has become a popular winter-retreat destination. Only 25 miles from downtown Tucson, Green Valley has a lot to do — clubs, trips, and concerts are all sponsored by the nonprofit Green Valley Recreation.
1. Sun City Center, Florida
Sun City Center is just a short drive from Apollo Beach.TimothyOLeary
Percentage of retiree-friendly listings: 84%
Median age of residents: 71
Median list price: $315,000
Known for: Located between Tampa and Sarasota, Sun City Center is essentially its own retirement community. There are plenty of golf courses as well as indoor and outdoor pools. During waking hours, it's legal to drive golf carts on the streets.
Correction: June 3, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misidentified which Orange County city was identified by Realtor.com as having cheaper retirement-friendly listings than elsewhere in the county. It was Laguna Woods, not Laguna Beach. Citing information provided by Realtor.com, the story also misidentified the location of Menifee's Sun City neighborhood. It is not on the periphery of Joshua Tree National Park. The Sun City Palm Desert facility, which is near the park, is not in Menifee; a reference to the facility was removed from the story.
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Noah Sheidlower is a senior economy reporter with Business Insider. He covers retirement, aging, age tech, and employment trends.Noah reported a monthslong, award-winning series called 80 Over 80 about what working at 80 and older looks like. The 300-interview series includes over a dozen features and chronicles the lives of people like an 81-year-old Home Depot worker battling heart failure, a 93-year-old woman searching for a job, and an 85-year-old bus driver who died at work.In 2024, Noah led a 17-story retirement series on the regrets older Americans have about their lives. He has also reported on how Americans have navigated unemployment, what compels Americans to move, and how mass deportations could impact the economy. He has appeared on SiriusXM Business Radio, Vox, and CBS News to discuss his reporting.Noah received his Bachelor's in Sociology and English from Columbia University. Noah has covered the restaurant industry, transportation, retail, and markets for CNBC, NBC News, CNN, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Juliana Kaplan is a senior reporter on the economy team, where she covers the labor force, kitchen table economics, and the people behind the numbers.She covers everything from DOGE to taxes to dynamic pricing to Mormon-mania in the US. She also frequently contributes longform pieces to BI's Discourse section on topics ranging from the economics of keeping you annoyed to the rise of greedflation.She graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in English, concentrating in Creative Writing.You can email her at jkaplan@jkmperu.com, message her on Signal at julianakaplan.33, or follow her on LinkedIn. You can also find her on Reddit at u/julianakaplan.
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Jordan reports on moving trends — from remote work to house hacking. He also writes about movers struggling with issues related to relocation, such as buyer's remorse and the many intricacies of moving to an unfamiliar state.He also has stories focusing on property technology and, in 2022, moderated a panel on fractional investing at the real estate technology conference Blueprint. Before Insider, he covered luxury real estate in South Florida for The Real Deal. He holds a Master's degree in Magazine Writing from New York University and a Bachelor's degree in English from Florida State University.
