U.S. News & World Report named three Florida cities to its 2025 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. top 10 list and another seven Florida cities to the top 20.
WASHINGTON — Three Florida cities landed in the top 10 of U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Places to Retire in the United States based on how well they meet American retirees’ expectations, with measures including happiness, affordability, health care, desirability, retiree taxes and job market.
Retirees noted overall happiness of a place’s residents as the top consideration when determining a place to retire this year, helping Naples secure the No. 1 rank. Naples also scored high in desirability, retiree taxes and job market, the magazine said.
Sarasota secured the No. 4 position while Jacksonville landed at No. 7.
“The 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings reflect top cities across the country that best meet retiree needs and desires,” says Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News. “What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar but is also a place for enjoyment. This is why the Midwest and South dominate the top 25.”
This year, U.S. News adjusted its scoring to make happiness the most heavily weighted of the six factors in the 2025 Best Places to Retire methodology, which also includes indexes for affordability, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability and job market.
Additionally, to further localize metrics that have a direct impact on retirees, U.S. News transitioned from using Metro Statistical Area (MSA) data to city-based data. These changes resulted in top 10 appearances from Virginia Beach, Virginia (No. 2), Boise, Idaho (No. 5), Raleigh, North Carolina (No. 6), Jacksonville (No. 7), Huntsville, Alabama (No. 8), Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 9) and Fort Wayne, Indiana (No. 10).
“U.S. News’ rankings are consistently evolving to meet consumer needs,” Bradbury added. “This year’s shift from Metro Statistical Area data to city-based data enables the consumer to consider factors that will directly impact the livability and overall experiences associated with a city on a more local level.”
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 matters most to people when they’re considering where to retire. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings.
2025 U.S. News Best Places to Retire – Top 10
1. Naples
2. Virginia Beach, Virginia
3. New York City, New York
4. Sarasota
5. Boise, Idaho
6. Raleigh, North Carolina
7. Jacksonville
8. Huntsville, Alabama
9. Charlotte, North Carolina
10. Fort Wayne, Indiana
Of the top 150, other Florida cities include:
17. Pensacola
18. Tampa
19. Port St. Lucie
20. Melbourne
24. Fort Myers
34. Lakeland
55. Orlando
69. Tallahassee
77. Daytona Beach
81. Ocala
127. Miami
SOURCE U.S. News & World Report
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