12 states represented in this shortlist.
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Ranking
Best Retirement Cities Research Shortlist
A retirement research shortlist using cost pressure, healthcare/education sector signals, city scale, and climate-check priority while healthcare access, taxes, and weather-risk layers remain queued. Rankings are transparent research aids. Verify rent, wages, school programs, crime, commute, taxes, and neighborhood details before making a relocation decision.
Anchorage, Alaska is first under this page's stated ordering.
Median transparent recent-grad fit score across the displayed cities.
$1,936 median rent among covered rows.
How to use this shortlist
A retirement research shortlist using cost pressure, healthcare/education sector signals, city scale, and climate-check priority while healthcare access, taxes, and weather-risk layers remain queued. The order is a research screen, not a promise that the first city fits every household. Open a city profile, run the affordability calculator, and verify current housing, salary, neighborhood safety, school boundaries, taxes, insurance, and commute details before deciding.
| City | Catalog | Grad fit | Median rent | Median income | 2025 population | City unemployment | Growth | Jobs | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, Alaska | #76 | 63/100 | $1,489 | $103,284 | 287,155 | 4.6% | -1.40% | cautious | rent-friendly |
| Frisco, Texas | #97 | 78/100 | $2,014 | $150,212 | 236,955 | 4.6% | +18.16% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Cary, North Carolina | North Carolina coverage | 77/100 | $1,738 | $134,905 | 183,582 | 3.5% | +5.03% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| League City, Texas | 2025 population #256 | 71/100 | $1,684 | $121,099 | 119,905 | 3.8% | +4.87% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Allen, Texas | 2025 population #282 | 77/100 | $1,932 | $130,901 | 113,447 | 3.7% | +8.40% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Sugar Land, Texas | 2025 population #302 | 63/100 | $1,957 | $136,217 | 107,726 | 4.1% | -2.97% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Edmond, Oklahoma | Oklahoma coverage | 77/100 | $1,344 | $103,183 | 100,479 | 3.3% | +6.41% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Lehi, Utah | Utah coverage | 86/100 | $1,964 | $131,299 | 95,313 | 4.0% | +25.56% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Hoover, Alabama | Alabama coverage | 72/100 | $1,457 | $109,253 | 93,550 | 3.5% | +1.12% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Roswell, Georgia | Georgia coverage | 68/100 | $1,810 | $128,654 | 91,505 | 3.8% | -1.43% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Leander, Texas | 2025 population #386 | 79/100 | $1,939 | $139,048 | 91,132 | 3.4% | +53.85% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| South Jordan, Utah | Utah coverage | 84/100 | $1,991 | $134,047 | 87,614 | 2.4% | +13.07% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Layton, Utah | 2025 population #431 | 72/100 | $1,538 | $102,480 | 85,308 | 2.8% | +4.25% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Castle Rock, Colorado | 2025 population #437 | 84/100 | $2,000 | $145,197 | 83,815 | 4.4% | +14.56% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Pasco, Washington | 2025 population #445 | 69/100 | $1,227 | $85,586 | 82,848 | 5.3% | +7.14% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Redmond, Washington | 2025 population #448 | 82/100 | $2,409 | $162,560 | 82,506 | 4.9% | +12.58% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Apex, North Carolina | 2025 population #463 | 84/100 | $1,902 | $144,135 | 80,419 | 3.8% | +24.94% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Johns Creek, Georgia | 2025 population #464 | 68/100 | $2,257 | $160,093 | 80,401 | 4.1% | -2.48% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Flower Mound, Texas | 2025 population #467 | 73/100 | $2,231 | $161,235 | 79,540 | 3.4% | +4.72% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Cedar Park, Texas | 2025 population #472 | 70/100 | $1,846 | $129,545 | 79,032 | 4.5% | +1.82% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Rogers, Arkansas | Arkansas coverage | 79/100 | $1,270 | $86,728 | 76,956 | 2.5% | +10.47% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Idaho Falls, Idaho | Idaho coverage | 82/100 | $1,075 | $73,110 | 71,785 | 4.2% | +9.42% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Dublin, California | 2025 population #546 | 62/100 | $3,191 | $214,385 | 71,602 | 3.8% | -1.21% | cautious | rent-friendly |
| Madison, Alabama | Alabama coverage | 84/100 | $1,453 | $134,655 | 67,968 | 2.2% | +19.43% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Alpharetta, Georgia | 2025 population #587 | 72/100 | $1,948 | $147,612 | 66,921 | 4.9% | +1.69% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Sammamish, Washington | 2025 population #601 | 64/100 | $2,857 | $239,690 | 66,110 | 3.1% | -2.00% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Fulshear, Texas | 2025 population #618 | 78/100 | $1,952 | $187,035 | 64,630 | 2.8% | +297.26% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Celina, Texas | 2025 population #619 | 78/100 | $2,379 | $170,894 | 64,427 | 2.8% | +276.79% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Bentonville, Arkansas | Arkansas coverage | 83/100 | $1,344 | $112,792 | 63,057 | 3.1% | +16.31% | competitive | rent-friendly |
| Cupertino, California | 2025 population #705 | 60/100 | $3,501 | $234,707 | 58,333 | 4.0% | -3.15% | cautious | rent-friendly |