The Baby Boomer generation has long been dubbed the Me Generation, and their retirement choices might prove it. Today, 3X as many Boomers as Millennials (45%) say they want to enjoy their wealth rather than pass it to the next generation, with many rejecting babysitting duty, too.
So, do retirees’ relocation choices really suggest Boomers are off building a retirement playground instead of helping to raise the next generation?
We looked at the states retirees have increasingly favored in the last decade.
At the same time, we also wanted to analyze whether their choices line up with the retirement cities that are growing most and where retirees are most likely to find a balance of friends, fun, affordability, and healthcare access.
What did we find?
While traditional retirement states are out, that doesn’t mean that Grandma and Grandpa are staying home to help. They’re moving to escape, chasing locations better known for hiking trails than beaches and bunko nights. And while their choices are increasingly favoring off-the-beaten-track states known for big nature and recreation, some current top cities and growing future hubs for the elderly can be found in traditional retirement playgrounds, where sunny skies and tee times reign.
Key Takeaways
- Nontraditional Wyoming has the steepest positive in-move trend among over-65s, with a retiree growth rate ~76% higher than #2 South Carolina and ~105% higher than #3 Idaho.
- Florida’s out (along with Arizona and Nevada). Each is in the bottom ten states for 65 to 74-year-old out-of-staters moving in.
- In spite of the state’s waning popularity, Peoria, AZ, is the fastest-growing retirement destination per capita. It also offers the best balance of affordability, an established retiree community, and a range of amenities.
- The cities with affordable leisure, healthcare, and a growing retiree community are in conventional locales: they include 4 cities in Arizona, 3 in Nevada, and 2 in Florida.
- By 2050, 7 of the 10 most popular retirement destinations are expected to be in a different sunbelt state: Texas.
Retirees Want Fewer Neighbors and More Nature
States that have surged forward in retiree popularity represent a trend toward lower population density, more space, and rural or smaller-town living.
Number 1 Wyoming, where interest has surged over the past decade (boasting average annual growth that’s 76% steeper than #2 South Carolina), along with Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, and Mississippi, have population density well below the national average and small populations.
South Carolina and Tennessee are more populated, but retirees often move to less dense areas within them, like mountain towns, lakes, and coastlines. They congregate in suburban Rock Hill, SC, or hilly Johnson City, TN, where they find walkable downtowns, farmer’s markets, parks, and nearby hiking trails.
At the same time, once popular retirement destinations, like Florida, Arizona, and Nevada, have experienced negative retiree growth from 2013 to 2023, each losing more momentum over the decade than 43+ other states.
That’s not to say these states no longer offer large communities for would-be retirees — cities in these 3 traditional retirement havens, including Scottsdale, AZ, and Cape Coral, FL, make up the entire top ten in terms of their share of residents over the age of 65. And many of their popular retiree cities still show the strongest move interest — 6 of the top 10 cities making the biggest percentile gains in new retiree residents are within these states.
However, while some individual cities shine, these states, as a whole, aren’t attracting newcomers at the rates they once did. That means that as Boomers give way to Gen X, Millennials, and even Gen Z retirements, these standard choices will be home to fewer older adults.
The Fastest-Growing Retirement City Today is Also the Top-Ranked
As top retirement states lose their prominence, we wanted to see where retirees could enjoy a combination of amenities, basics (combining affordability and healthcare), and popularity among retirees. It’s more on the beaten track than current hot states suggest.
Head to Peoria, AZ, for the strongest growth in over-65s in the country (soaring more than 43% from 2018 to 2023 and adding more than 40K people) and wins the category title for affordability and health care.
Its affordability score is buoyed by strong growth in home health care services over 2020 (the number of services has tripled), but Peoria does outshine nearby retirement hotspots Scottsdale and Chandler for home affordability. It also offers new retirees 13 miles of breathing room from Phoenix’s busy downtown streets and more than 3 golf courses per 100K residents.
To hack your retirement, live in Peoria but visit number 1 city for amenities — Scottsdale, AZ (#11 overall) — it’s less than an hour across the Phoenix metro area. You’ll 6X your per capita golf course count and find more senior centers to explore, too.
Nine of the top 10 growing retirement cities (with the infrastructure in place to support that growth) are in traditional retirement hubs: Arizona, Florida, and Nevada. These states may be falling out of favor, but their most beloved cities are still growing.
Desert Cities Boast the Highest Retiree In-Migration
Mesa, AZ, is wooing more retirees than any other American city, with the largest in-migration of elderly residents per capita this year. They’re among multiple desert cities catching the eye of retirees: Surprise, AZ, and Peoria, AZ, join Mesa in the top ten.
But the desert lifestyle’s appeal doesn’t stop at Arizona’s borders. Three Nevada cities are also in the top ten: Henderson, Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas.
Home Health Care and Hospitals Don’t Make a Retirement Location Attractive
Sure, elderly Americans want good healthcare nearby, but multiple hospitals and home health care services don’t make a location more appealing. Of the cities with the most hospitals (suggesting a range of specialties) and home health companies, only Las Vegas also sits atop the list of cities with the highest in-migration.
However, Phoenix also creeps into the top ten for sheer hospital count, with many Valley cities leading the nation in retiree in-migration That suggests that many seniors are moving to the leafy suburbs of cities that do have robust healthcare infrastructure — they just don’t want to be right next door to the sirens.
Affordability Doesn’t Dictate Current Retirement Plans
Affordability (at least in terms of housing) isn’t an issue for today’s retirees, who may well be spending while they can. They’d do better looking in Detroit, Cleveland, and Toledo (or even Shreveport, LA, or Birmingham, AL, for a balmier climate) to live affordably as they age.
But they’re not. That suggests that while costs are part of the story (after all, retirement hotspots like Wyoming, Nevada, and Florida have no personal income tax) day-to-day affordability might be traded for lifestyle gains.
Golf Courses Still Make for Higher Elderly Appeal
It’s not transit, walkability, transit, or affordability. If that were the case, more seniors may be looking to relocate to Washington, D.C., New York City, and Detroit (in that order). In fact, all those categories fail to put one of their top ten cities in the top ten retirement destinations.
What does make a difference? It’s per capita golf courses.
While we can’t say whether the golf courses woo retirees or the retirees are creating golf courses in their chosen new homes, Scottsdale, AZ, Las Vegas, NV, and Port St. Lucie, FL, all show growing retirement populations — and plenty of tee times.
Gen Z Retirement Havens of 2050
The cities poised to grow the most (per capita) among over-65s from 2030 to 2050:
- 1. Frisco, TX
- 2. Meridian, ID
- 3. Allen, TX
- 4. West Jordan, U
- 5. Sugar Land, TX
- 6. Round Rock, TX
- 7. League City, TX
- 8. McKinney, TX
- 9. Olathe, KS
- 10. Pearland, TX
While many of today’s retirees are heading to the trailheads of Wyoming and Peoria, the trend doesn’t mean that Cheyenne (or even Peoria) will be the next generation’s Peoria.
In the future, the biggest gains among retirees are likely to be in Texas.
Take Frisco, TX. Skyrocketing from around 30K elderly residents in 2030 to over 80K by 2050 (an 81% increase), Frisco stands to become 2050’s retirement capital. It’s the nation’s fifth most popular suburb for in-moves compared to residents looking to move out. And it’s been rated the #1 city for livability and #2 for buying a house.
But neighboring Allen, TX, and McKinney, TX are also on track to help make north Dallas the next generation’s favorite place to live it up into their golden years.
The cities that stand to gain the largest number of retired residents overall by 2050 are New York (adding 694,459 new retirees), Los Angeles (254,240), and Chicago (185,211). They’ll see their existing populations age, and add more retired residents, due to their already large populations. These cities will need to adjust infrastructure, health services, and maybe even design a few golf courses to accommodate their residents’ changing needs.
Conclusion
Not content to stay home and shovel sidewalks or grill cheese for the kids, today’s retirees are heading to more diverse destinations than ever before.
These active seniors are often orchestrating a second act defined by space, recreation, and scenic views. The traditional retirement states may still host most seniors, but they’re no longer leading the migration. From Wyoming’s wide-open skies (and attractive lack of personal income tax) to Peoria’s practicality, Boomers are crafting retirements that prioritize autonomy and escape.
And tomorrow’s retirees? They’re already staking claims in the suburbs, in towns like Frisco, TX, which, by 2050, will rival the Peorias and Port St. Lucies of today, offering a blueprint for what aging can look like: a new chapter for new adventures.
Methodology
Metro Area Growth Slope for 65+ Population
To determine the increasing or decreasing popularity for retirees across metro areas, we used the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), which uses probability sample survey data from approximately 3.5 million U.S. households to show granular demographic changes year over year.
2025’s Best Retirement Hotspots
To identify the best places for retirees to get the most out of life, we analyzed 110 U.S. cities, weighing retiree population growth above the elderly population percentage to highlight cities where retirees are flocking versus those with stagnant, albeit aging, populations.
We relied on the following data:
Retiree Popularity
- Percent of the Population 65+, from the U.S. Census
- Retiree Migration Inbound, from the U.S. Census
The Basics: Healthcare and Affordability
- Home Health Services Per Capita
- Elderly Nursing Homes Per Capita
- Nursing Home City Ranking
- Hospital Density, from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Median Income, via the U.S. Census ACS data
- Median home price, via Zillow
The Extras: Amenities
2050 Retirees Will Favor Traditional Retirement Cities
To predict future growth, we ran 990 individual linear regressions (495 for total population and 495 for elderly population) to predict the growth rate of the retiree community vis à vis the general metro population. All cities included in the dataset had data from the 2010 to 2023 Census American Community Survey yearly estimates (note, no data was available for 2020).
We created low and high population estimates for 2030 and 2050 based on a 95% confidence interval, and averaged the 2 for a single future population estimate.
