A new study has named the top 25 US cities for retirement, based on affordability, quality of living, and other key factors.
The Forbes Best Places to Retire In 2023 list published on Friday names Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Indianapolis and Cincinnati as among the top retirement destinations on the unranked list.
All 25 cities on the list have median home prices below the nationwide median, which is $376,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Augusta, Georgia, the home of the Masters Tournament, had the lowest median home price on the list, at $173,000.
Meanwhile, Charlotte and Spokane, Washington, tied for the highest median home price on the list, squeaking just under the nationwide figure at $375,000.
Ten cities from the Forbes Best Places to Retire In 2023 list with the lowest median home prices are seen above, with median home prices listed
Augusta, Georgia, the home of the Masters Tournament, had the lowest median home price on the list, at $173,000
San Antonio, which was included in the Forbes list for a fifth straight year, came in at $262,000.
The list ‘aims to identify the top choices across the US for high quality retirement living at an affordable price’ wrote Forbes contributor William P. Barrett, who compared more than 800 places with populations above 10,000.
In addition to affordability, the list considered a range of factors including state taxes, crime rates, air quality, walkability, and the risk of natural disasters and climate change impact.
The list excludes any place assigned a ‘very high’ risk rating on the FEMA National Risk Index for Natural Hazards.
That means much of hurricane-prone Florida, traditionally a favorite destination for retirees, is automatically excluded from the Forbes list.
This year, Jacksonville is the only Florida city to make the top 25, with a median home price of $295,000.
The Villages, a popular retirement community in central Florida, had appeared on the list for the past two years, but dropped off due to rising living costs, with the median home there now priced at $416,000.
Despite its above average crime rate and cold winters, Pittsburgh made the list for the sixth year in a row, with an affordable median home price of $219,000
Despite its above average crime rate and cold winters, Pittsburgh made the list for the sixth year in a row, and has appeared in the rankings for 11 out of 13 years.
That’s due in part to Pittsburgh’s relative affordability, with a median home price of $219,000 that is 42 percent below the national median.
Georgia tops the states with three cities on this year’s list, while Arizona, Pennsylvania and Virginia have two each.
The northernmost city on the list, Fargo, North Dakota, is also the only city to appear in the Forbes rankings for all 13 years since its inception.
| Median Home Price | |
|---|---|
| Athens, Georgia | $290,000 |
| Augusta, Georgia | $173,000 |
| Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | $298,000 |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | $375,000 |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | $223,000 |
| Columbia, Missouri | $277,000 |
| Fargo, North Dakota | $279,000 |
| Green Valley, Arizona | $291,000 |
| Greenville, South Carolina | $282,000 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | $219,000 |
| Iowa City, Iowa | $275,000 |
| Jacksonville, Florida | $295,000 |
| Lawrence, Kansas | $284,000 |
| Lexington, Kentucky | $276,000 |
| Lincoln, Nebraska | $264,000 |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $219,000 |
| Pittsfield, Massachusetts | $258,000 |
| Rochester, Minnesota | $309,000 |
| San Antonio, Texas | $262,000 |
| Savannah, Georgia | $275,000 |
| Sioux Falls, South Dakota | $316,000 |
| Spokane, Washington | $375,000 |
| Sun City, Arizona | $293,000 |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | $371,000 |
| Winchester, Virginia | $348,000 |
