5 Best, Worst Cities to Save for Retirement

New report ranks the top places in the U.S. to live to help build a nest egg, as well as the toughest places to do so

Overland Park Best Places to save for retirement — American Museum of Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas. Image credit: © Lisa Mckown | Dreamstime.com

Where you live—and how you live—before your retirement can have a tremendous impact on your finances and savings. But which cities provide the best opportunities to build a financial nest egg for retirement?

To find out, researchers over at MutualFund.com examined opportunities to build a nest egg by analyzing key factors related to personal finances and budgeting, including housing affordability, income and income growth, cost of living, economic stability, and tax friendliness. The ranking analyzed these key metrics throughout the 170 most populous cities across the country to determine where the best—and worst—cities to save for retirement are located.

In its coverage, MutualFund.com lists the 25 best and worst places to build a retirement nest egg. Cities within the Dallas and Phoenix metropolitan area are prominently featured within the top 10 best cities, including Garland, Texas (No. 6), Chandler, Arizona (No. 7), and Mesa, Arizona (No. 9) in addition to those making the top five listed below. Cities in 10 different states made the top 25.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the worst cities to save for retirement are also among the most expensive, especially in terms of housing. California cities dominate the “worst” list, accounting for 13 of the bottom 15, interrupted only by a couple of New York cities.