The Top 10 Cities All-Around for Retirees in 2019

Chances are good that — at least once or twice, when the boss wasn’t looking — you’ve had a daydream about the right place to retire.

If these musings include visions of mouse ears, you are on the right path, according to WalletHub’s 2019 ranking of the best and worst U.S. cities in which to retire.

Orlando, Florida — home to Walt Disney World — tops the list of the best places to retire. It is one of five cities in the Sunshine State to finish in the top 10 of the WalletHub rankings.

WalletHub ranked 182 U.S. cities based on 46 key metrics, each of which falls into one of four main categories:

• Affordability
• Activities
• Quality of life
• Health care

Orlando ranked high in the categories of affordability (No. 9) and activities (No. 11). It also finished in the top 50 in the health care category.

Although warm-weather cities like Orlando top the WalletHub list, a few more-frigid locales also ranked high. The WalletHub top 10 places to retire are:

1. Orlando, Florida
2. Tampa, Florida
3. Scottsdale, Arizona
4. Charleston, South Carolina
5. Miami
6. Denver
7. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
8. Cape Coral, Florida
9. Minneapolis
10. Cheyenne, Wyoming

Just in case you’re wondering, the city ranked worst place to retire is Stockton, California. The city ranked particularly low in the categories of activities (No. 180), health care (No. 177) and quality of life (No. 168).

Choosing your best place to retire

Finding a “forever home” for your golden years can be challenging. Looking over WalletHub’s list can help you target some good candidates. So can reading through our ranking “The 25 Best Places in the U.S. to Retire in 2019.”

However, in some cases, you might discover that the best place to retire is right where you are today. As we have reported:

“A 2018 AARP survey found that more than three-quarters of people age 50 or older prefer to stay in their current homes as they age.”

There are many good reasons to retire in place. We highlight some of the best of them in “7 Reasons You Should Not Move for Retirement.”

For more help deciding where to spend your golden years, check out “Don’t Retire Till You Answer These 4 Questions.”