3 Takeaways from Forbes ‘Best Places to Retire in 2022’

The economics of making a move for retirement years can be very compelling. The prospect of selling a house in an expensive location and moving to a less-expensive home with plenty of money left over to help finance retirement in a lower-cost, lower-tax locale has long tempted fledgling retirees.

Forbes recently released the 2022 edition of its annual “Best Places to Retire” list, choosing (but not ranking) 25 cities out of more than 800 U.S. cities and towns with populations above 10,000.

The primary criteria Forbes uses to compile the list are financial, including median home prices and overall cost of living, both compared to national measures, and state taxes, including income tax exemptions for Social Security and other retirement income, and state estate/inheritance taxes.

Also considered is the strength of the local economy, since many retirees look for part-time work and eventually might want to sell their home and relocate again. Quality of life is another factor, so a number of non-economic indicators are considered, ruling out cities with too high rates of serious violent crime or too few primary care doctors per capita.

Also taken into consideration are factors that promote an active retirement, including air quality and ratings for walkability and bikeability.

Finally, Forbes considered each area’s vulnerability to climate change and natural disaster risk, excluding places assigned a “very high” risk rating.

San Antonio, Texas was the largest city on the list with a population of 1.6 million, but a sweet spot seemed to be between 100,000 and 200,000 residents. Ten cities were in this range.

Here are three things we found particularly interesting about this year’s list.

College Towns Dominate List

Perhaps 11 of the places on the new list could be considered college towns, which Forbes notes “offer convenient opportunities for lifelong learning and great cultural and dining options, particularly for their size. In the early days of the pandemic, some of these spots became near ghost towns, leading us to knock many of them off the 2020 list. But now life in these towns is back close to normal.”

Most of the “classic” college towns on the list are home to large state universities. Among them are Athens, Ga., home to the University of Georgia; College Station, Texas, home to Texas A&M; Columbia, Mo., home to the University of Missouri; Iowa City, Iowa, home to the University of Iowa; Knoxville, Tenn., home to the University of Tennessee; Lawrence, Kan., home to the University of Kansas; Lexington, Ky., home to the University of Kentucky; Lincoln, Neb., home to the University of Nebraska; Madison, Wis., home to the University of Wisconsin; and Tucson, Ariz., home to the University of Arizona.

Next page: Only city to make every list

Fargo Makes List Again

Despite harsh winters that might typically keep a city off a list of most desirable places to retire, Fargo, N.D. remains the only city on the list for all 12 years Forbes has put it together.

Fargo, North Dakota’s largest city with a population of 126,000, features a median home price of $271,000—28% below the national median. The cost of living is 8% below the national average. Other pluses listed were a high number of doctors per capita, good air quality, no estate tax, low natural hazard risk, very bikable and somewhat walkable. As for cons? Cold winters, serious crime rate slightly above national average and a state income tax on Social Security.

While the majority of the 25 cities on the list are in warmer climates, it does include choices in 18 states across all four continental time zones. Joining Fargo among the cities dinged for “cold winters” are Iowa City, Iowa; Madison, Wis.; Rochester, Minn.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Spokane, Wash.

Next page: Built specifically for retirement

Two “Retirement Towns” on List

Two communities built expressly for senior living made the list: Sun City, Ariz., and The Villages in Florida.

The Villages, the master-planned, age-restricted community (ages 55+) in central Florida has grown quickly to 132,000 residents. Between 2010 and 2020, The Villages was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, growing 39%, from about 93,000 in 2010 to about 130,000 in 2020.

It has a median home price of $388,000, 3% above the national median and the cost of living is 3% above the national average. No state income tax or estate tax also helps its ranking along with the rest of Florida as a retirement destination.

Sun City, a suburb of Phoenix, is also an age-restricted community with a population of 43,000 with eight golf courses all within six miles. Forbes puts its median home price at $303,000, 17% below the national median. No state estate tax or income tax on Social Security were other pluses.

SEE ALSO:

• ‘Best Places to Retire’ Rankings Dominated by Two States

• Disney-Style Retirement: 55+ Community Planned in Palm Springs

• Florida Best, New Jersey Worst for 2022 Retirement: WalletHub

• 2022 World’s Best Place to Retire Is…

• 2022’s 4 Most Affordable Places to Retire Overseas