Naples, Florida takes the top spot in this year’s revised rankings.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2024 — U.S. News & World Report, a leading authority in rankings and consumer guidance, released its 2025 Best Places to Retire in the United States. This year’s rankings assessed 150 major U.S. cities based on how well they meet retirees’ needs, considering factors such as happiness, affordability, healthcare, desirability, retiree taxes, and job opportunities.

Overall resident happiness emerged as the most important factor for retirees this year, significantly contributing to Naples’s No. 1 ranking. Naples also performed well in desirability, retiree taxes, and job market metrics.

“The 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings highlight top cities across the nation that best cater to retirees’ needs and preferences,” says , assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News. “Our findings reveal that retirees prioritize destinations offering both financial value and enjoyable lifestyles. This explains the strong showing of Midwest and Southern cities in the top 25.”

This year, U.S. News refined its scoring methodology, emphasizing happiness as the most significant factor among six key criteria for the 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings. These criteria also include affordability, healthcare quality, retiree taxes, desirability, and job market. Furthermore, to improve local data accuracy, U.S. News shifted from using Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) data to city-level data. These changes led to several cities making the top 10, including (No. 2), (No. 5), (No. 6), (No. 7), (No. 8), (No. 9), and (No. 10).

“U.S. News’ rankings continually adapt to meet evolving consumer needs,” Bradbury added. “This year’s transition from MSA data to city-specific data allows consumers to better assess factors directly affecting a city’s liveability and overall resident experience.”

The six factors in this year’s rankings were weighted according to a national survey of individuals nearing or in retirement (age 45 and older), gauging their retirement location priorities. 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.

Best Places to Retire is part of U.S. News’ expanding real estate section, providing rankings, resources, and advice to assist individuals with various real estate decisions, from buying and selling to finding and financing a home.

2025 U.S. News Best Places to Retire – Top 10
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About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is a global leader in providing information to empower consumers, citizens, business leaders, and policymakers to make informed decisions. As a multifaceted media organization, U.S. News offers unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer guidance to millions monthly. A long-standing institution in Washington for over 90 years, U.S. News is a trusted source for in-depth insights on education, health, politics, finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers, and consumer products and services.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P.