Picking a place to retire? It’s an important decision that, if taken too lightly, can turn your retirement years from golden to ghastly. For those searching for that perfect place, more than 180 U.S. cities were recently compared, and Atlanta ranked among the best.
“It’s important to choose wisely when picking where to retire, as many retirees are on a fixed income,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so. In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees.”
To determine 2024′s best and worst cities for retirement, the financial website compared the 182 most populated U.S. cities across four key dimensions: affordability, activities, quality of life and health care.
It then evaluated the four dimensions using 45 relevant metrics, each graded on a 100point scale, with a score of 100 being the best.
Florida cities claimed four the top five spots, but Atlanta managed to muscle its way into the top 10 — beating out 94.5% of the competition.
Just ahead of Las Vegas, Atlanta ranked 10th with an overall score of 57.34.
Atlanta outranked seven of the top nine cities for available activities, and three for both health care and affordability. Quality of life, however, is where the Peach State’s capital missed the mark — ranking within the bottom 34% of places. Museum lovers have a lot to look forward, too; Atlanta tied for first place in the museums per capita category.
Although ranked much lower overall at 138, Augusta broke into the top five cities for its low cost of living. Columbus was the lowest ranking Georgia town to make the list, reaching 155th.
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