Florida has long been the state that the rest of the country, at least much of the eastern part of the country, can’t wait to retire to. The Sunshine State is known for its beach and golfing communities, which are often peppered with, or even created for, senior living complexes and neighborhoods, like The Villages.
In September, three Florida cities ranked in personal finance company WalletHub’s list of the best U.S. cities for retirees in 2025, and Florida took first place on its list of the best states to retire to for the second year in a row.
And another recent retirement ranking also ranked Florida cities among the best places for retirees. Florida dominated U.S. News and World Report’s list of the best U.S. cities for retiring in 2026, with 10 Florida cities landing in the top 25.
Here are the 10 Florida cities ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s top 25 best places to retire in 2026.
Where is the best city in the U.S. to retire?
To find the best places in the U.S. to retire in 2026, U.S. News analyzed data for more than 85 cities to assess how well they meet Americans’ retirement needs, using criteria like quality of life, tax rates, senior population and migration trends, and health care quality.
Midland, Michigan, took first place. The population in Midland is just over 42,000, and around 20% of the Midland population is over 65 years old. Second place went to Weirton, West Virginia, where 25% of the population is over 65.
The first Florida city to make the list rounded out the top three. Homosassa Springs, Florida, an unincorporated community of just over 15,000 people in Citrus County, just over an hour north of Tampa. According to the report, about 30% of the population is over 65.
Top 25 best places to retire in 2026, Florida dominates this list
Florida cities took 10 rankings on U.S. News’s top 25 list:
Where is the best place to retire in 2025? Florida dominates top 5 cities
Florida cities also took over WalletHub’s top five best cities to retire in September.
To find the best U.S. cities for retirees in 2025, WalletHub compared the 150 most populated cities in the U.S. and at least two more of the most populated cities from each state across 45 metrics in four categories: affordability, activities, quality of life and health care.
Based on those metrics, Florida cities dominated the top rankings on WalletHub’s list, taking three of the top five: Orlando took first place, Miami took fourth and Tampa took fifth. Fort Lauderdale was the only other Florida city to place in the top 10, taking seventh place.
Here are WalletHub’s top 10 best U.S. cities for retirees in 2025:
What state has the highest retirement population?
According to a March 2025 report from Consumer Affairs, Florida has the third-highest retiree population in the U.S. and is one of three states where retirees make up more than 20% of the state population.
“Only nine states in the U.S. have over 20% representation of people over 65. The most represented state is Maine, with 22.94% of its population over 65, followed by Vermont (22.15%) and Florida (21.75%),” Consumer Affairs says.
“Florida is home to so many older residents partially because of its abundance of retirement communities in walkable cities, warm weather and lack of estate taxes. Among the top ten cities with the highest percentage of seniors in 2020, six were located in Florida.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida cities all over top 25 for US News’ 2026 best places to retire list. Here’s where
Reporting by Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
