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Sarasota makes comeback on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Places to Retire rankings
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After falling a few years in a row on U.S. News and World Report’s list ranking the best U.S. cities for retirees, Sarasota has returned to the top five.
Sarasota − No. 1 in 2020 and ’21 − ranked as the fourth best place to retire this year. It placed behind top-ranked Naples, Virginia Beach at No. 2 and third-place New York City as seniors this year emphasized happiness their top concern to the Washington, D.C.-headquartered media company famous for its consumer ranking information.
In recent years, the scoring matrix had more heavily weighted affordability as that was the top concern among retirees, according to U.S. News. High-priced Sarasota fell to No. 11 in 2022 and No. 18 in 2023 as real estate prices in the area soared, fueled by shifts in migration patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national average for housing costs in the United States was $281,900 with housing costs in Sarasota coming in at $430,600, according to the media company.
Despite losing points on affordability, other factors, including happiness, health care, desirability and retiree taxes and job market allowed Sarasota to return to the top five for the first time in since 2021.
Many other cities with temperate weather and entertainment options also scored well.
“The 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings reflect top cities across the country that best meet retiree needs and desires,” Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News, said in a news release. “What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar, but is also a place for enjoyment. This is why the Midwest and South dominate the top 25.”
In particular, Florida cities placed highly, taking eight of the top 25 places. Following Naples and Sarasota, Jacksonville (7), Pensacola (17), Tampa (18), Port St. Lucie (19), Melbourne (20) and Fort Myers (24) were the Florida cities ranked in the top 25.
Other changes to this year’s scoring included focusing more on city level data and not on data from surrounding metro areas.
“U.S. News’ rankings are consistently evolving to meet consumer needs,” Bradbury said in the news release. “This year’s shift from Metro Statistical Area data to city-based data enables the consumer to consider factors that will directly impact the livability and overall experiences associated with a city on a more local level.”
The rankings are calculated each year after U.S. News & World Report conducts a nationwide survey of people nearing retirement age, which they consider to be anyone 45-years-old or older. The responses determined how each much weight each factor would have in a city’s final score.
This year the “happiness” factor accounted for 27% of the final score followed by affordability with 25%, health care quality with 15%, retiree taxes with 13%, desirability with 12% and the job market with 8%.
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