Are you planning for retirement? Finding the place to settle in could take a lot of research. The latest rankings from U.S. News and World Report on the 2026 best places to retire could be a place to start, and some of the top places might surprise you.
“There’s a lot of geographic diversity in the new rankings,” said U.S. News and World Report contributing editor Tim Smart.
Midland, Michigan, came in at the No. 1 spot, followed by Homosassa Springs in Florida and the Woodlands and Spring, both in Texas.
Lynchburg, Virginia, came in 10th; Harrisonburg came in 77th. Ellicott City in Maryland came in 89th.
“Midland, Michigan did, in fact, secure the top spot in the rankings, mainly because of good scores on quality of life, affordability and the overall tax environment for retirees,” Smart said.
He said the best places to retire list expanded its reach this year, looking at more than 850 U.S. cities, and ranking the top 250.
“This was more granular and focused on cities. We also looked at population and migration patterns of seniors, 55 plus, to see where people were going and have been going,” Smart said.
For the rankings, they surveyed people 45 and up on what matters most to them. And for the first time in several years, quality of life ranked higher than affordability.
“While inflation is still higher than people would like, I think people have come to grips with that, and now maybe they’re thinking quality of life is what really matters,” Smart said.
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