Florida, home of the countryside, long considered the gold standard for places to spend your golden years, no longer sits on that throne. Far from it, actually.
GOBanking rates recently determined the safest and wealthiest cities for retirees analyzing data from the US Census' American Community Survey, Sperling's Best Places, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Consumer Expenditures. Only cities where at least 25% of the population was 65 or older were included.
The final ranking was based on scores for five criteria: Violent crime per 1,000 residents, property crime rate per 1,000 residents, ages 65+ median retirement income, median single-family home value (according to the Zillow Home Value Index for September 2024) and a Liveability Score (sourced by AreaVibes).
There were no Florida-based retirement cities in the top 30.
Oro Valley, Ariz., ranks as the safest and wealthiest retirement city in the U.S., leading six other Arizona locations in the rankings, including Prescott, Lake Havasu City, Scottsdale, Prescott Valley, Apache Junction and Bullhead City .
California was the state with the most entries in the top 30, including Rancho Palos Verdes, Lincoln, Laguna Woods, Walnut Creek, Novato, La Quinta, Seal Beach, Rancho Mirage, Cerritos, Banning, Palm Desert and Palm Springs.
Here are the 30 safest and wealthiest retirement cities.