Midwest Tops Charts in U.S. News 2026 ‘Best Places to Retire’
Step aside Pennsylvania and Florida—there’s a who new list of states winning the hearts of retirees.
U.S. News & World Report today announced its annual “Best Places to Retire” list, publishing its top 250 places to retire based on indices including quality of life, affordability, taxes, healthcare, and for the first time, population and migration for retirees ages 55 and older.
This year’s rankings considered over 850 cities—a considerable jump from 150 in prior years. The increase allows retirees to consider other factors like the size of the city and the area’s proximity to larger and smaller towns, U.S. News & World Report states.
The expansion of cities also resulted in a brand-new top 10 list, opening the door for smaller cities to top the popular rankings. According to U.S. News & World Report, the Midwest occupied nearly one-third of this year’s top 30 places to retire.
“The expansion of the 2026 Best Places to Retire rankings to evaluate over 850 cities enables retirees to have a more granular starting point when deciding where to spend their golden years,” said Tim Smart, contributing editor and author of U.S. News & World Report’s retirement newsletter, YOLO: Your Smart Guide to Retirement. “Whether seeking a bustling city or a quiet town, retirees are now empowered with a more precise view of the best places to settle down.”
First-time entrant Midland, Michigan, secured this year’s leading rank for top city, where retirees prioritized its affordability and low taxes. Other midwestern cities among the leading 20 include Bismarck, North Dakota at No. 11, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, placing 16th.
Additional Midwestern cities that performed well were Rochester Hills, Michigan (No. 14), Troy, Michigan (No. 15), Fishers, Indiana (No. 23), Greenwood, Indiana (No. 27), and Noblesville, Indiana (No. 29).
Quality of life was also the most heavily weighted factor this year, the report observes, as retirees now prioritize calmer lifestyles following the chaos and heaviness of a worldwide pandemic.
“Retirees are prioritizing quality of life over affordability for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This, coupled with an expanded number of places evaluated, allowed a number of midwestern cities to secure high positions in the rankings,” said Smart.
While the Midwest made quite an appearance on this year’s list, the South continued to hold a strong presence, with 94 of the top 250 cities being in Texas and Florida. Notable cities in Texas, known for its affordability, included Victoria (No. 12), Pearland (No. 17), Conroe (No. 20), League City (No. 25), San Angelo (No. 28) and Flower Mound (No. 37).
In Florida, retirees may favor Palm Harbor (No. 13), Naples (No. 18), Pensacola (No. 19), Cape Coral (No. 21), Bonita Springs (No. 22), Port Charlotte (No. 24) and Jacksonville (No. 30) for strong population/migration and quality of life scores.
According to U.S. News & World Report, 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 individuals prioritize as they enter retirement.
Data resources include federal, state, and local data provided by Applied Geographic Solutions, which includes data sourced from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings.
Read on for additional insights on the top places to retire in the U.S.
Next: No. 10 – 6 of the Best Places to Retire
