This North Carolina city ranks among the nation’s best places to retire. Here’s why

Simone Jasper
Juli Leonard/jleonard@newsobserver.com

If you’re dreaming of retirement, North Carolina is home to one of the best places to settle down, a new report finds.

Raleigh ranks No. 7 on a list of U.S. cities offering older residents access to health care, activities and pleasant weather, according to results published Feb. 17.

To come up with the list of best retirement destinations, the online rental resource Zumper said it studied 100 U.S. cities. Using data from the federal government and other sources, it scored each location in the following categories: rent prices, transportation, health care, air quality and resident satisfaction.

Raleigh earned a top spot on the list after it received high marks for resident satisfaction. Zumper said it analyzed results from its survey of more than 10,000 North American renters, focusing on how those older than age 45 felt about the city’s activities and weather, as well as their “overall satisfaction.”

“With Southern charm and favorable weather, retirees will find that other residents in their age group are greatly satisfied with living in Raleigh,” Zumper wrote in its report. “Above-average scores for air quality, weather satisfaction, and outdoor recreation satisfaction also contribute to Raleigh’s overall draw.”

Raleigh earned A and B grades in several categories — including transportation and weather satisfaction — meaning the city ranked higher than at least 60% of cities when it came to those qualities. But the city didn’t fare as well in other categories, receiving Cs for median rent price, health care options and the state income tax rate.

The results come after Raleigh earned praise as a top destination for people across several age groups.

Last year, Raleigh ranked as a hot spot for Generation Z and a trending city for millennials. It also was named one of the nation’s best places for college students to live and a top location to raise a family, McClatchy News reported.

On the more recent list, Raleigh was the only North Carolina city to rank in the top 10. Landing lower spots on the list were Charlotte at No. 33, Greensboro at No. 45, Winston-Salem at No. 48, Durham at No. 74 and Asheville at No. 84.

Overall, the nation’s highest-ranking place for retirees to live was Columbus, Ohio.

Rounding out the top five:

  • Louisville, Kentucky at No. 2

  • Spokane, Washington at No. 3

  • Detroit, Michigan at No. 4

  • Albuquerque, New Mexico at No. 5

The lowest-ranking city on Zumper’s list was Newark, New Jersey.

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