DENVER (KDVR) — Start loading up your 401(k). Out of almost 200 cities in the U.S., Denver ranks seventh among the best places to retire, depending on if you can afford it.
WalletHub released a new data set that looks at the “retiree-friendliness” of 182 cities in the country. It compared the affordability, quality of life, activities, health care and around 40 other metrics.
Here’s what the study shows:
Highest-ranked cities:
Denver doesn’t rank among the top five best cities to retire, but it’s also going up against four cities in Florida, which is the home of most retirees.
- Tampa, Florida
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Casper, Wyoming
- Denver, Colorado
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Atlanta, Georgia
Denver’s health care, quality of life and affordability rank fairly low on the list of best retirement places. While it’s not the worst, it certainly isn’t in the top 10 best places to retire if it were based on the cost.
When it comes to Denver, the data shows it’s expensive to retire. Some reports expect that it takes around $1 million to retire in Colorado. But Denver’s not ranked the best because of its affordability.
Denver ranks high on the overall score because of the activities. Some of the only cities that rank above Denver in activities are Las Vegas, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Fort Lauderdale.
Lowest-ranked cities:
The lowest-ranked cities are mostly cheaper than Denver and have a better quality of life. The difference is the activity ranking. While these cities are affordable, there isn’t much to do.
- Stockton, California
- Newark, New Jersey
- Bakersfield, California
- San Bernardino, California
- Detroit, Michigan
- Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Wichita, Kansas
- Rancho Cucamonga, California
- Vancouver, Washington
- Baltimore, Maryland
If you don’t want to join the great migration to Florida once you quit working, you’re in the right place.
Denver is expensive to retire in, but retiring itself is expensive. A survey shows that Americans estimate they need almost $2 million to comfortably retire.
If retiring is expensive either way, you might as well stay in the Mile High City, which is ranked as one of the best places to retire.
