More retirees are moving from one state to another in search of less expensive housing, and they have their sights set on Florida, according to a retirement relocation trend report.
More than 234,000 Americans moved in retirement in 2022, up 4% from 2021, according to online moving-services marketplace Hire A Helper. Among those, 12% of retirees moved for cheaper housing, the highest rate since 2014.
Miranda Marquit, Hire A Helper chief data analyst, told the AARP, “That kind of cost consciousness is something we haven’t seen at this level [in the census data] since 2014.”
The number of interstate moves remains lower than the 400,000 moves that occurred in 2020, however. That’s when movers cited job, health and family concerns related to COVID-19 as the major drivers behind moves overall, according to a previous report.
Although the pandemic fueled most moves in 2021, this year’s driver is inflation, affecting cost of living, savings and home prices, the company said. Retirement moves for “new and better housing” fell sharply, with “upscaling” making up 10% of all stated reasons for a retirement move, down from 18% in 2019.
Florida, according to the findings, was the top destination for retirement moves — approximately 12% of all retirees — thanks to its warm weather, low cost of living and no state income taxes. North Carolina was the second-most attractive place for retirees to settle, capturing 9.6% of retirement moves, followed by Michigan (6.6%), Arizona (5.9%) and Georgia (5.5%).
Older adults making retirement moves are settling in urban areas, Hire A Helper said. The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL, area drew 9.2% of all retirees. Columbus, OH, drew 5.8% of all retirees looking for a new place to live — another testament to cost of living being a high priority for retirees planning moves in 2022, according to the report. Worcester, MA, came in third with 5.7% or retiree moves, followed by No. 4 San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos, CA, (5.5%) and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN (5.3%).
Oregon was the state most often left by retirees. As one of the most expensive states in the country in which to live, Oregon saw as many as 10% of retirees leave. Maryland saw the second highest level of retirement moves (7%), followed by Idaho (3.4%), Texas (3.3%) and Virginia (2.9%).
Hire A Helper used data from the US Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and its annual social and economic supplements.
Affordability, healthcare affect quality of life
In a separate look at wallet-friendly retirement locations, personal finance website WalletHub named Florida the second best state to retire to, behind Virginia, in its 2023 Best States to Retire list.
WalletHub compared the 50 states across 47 metrics, including affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life. The site noted that 25% of non-retired adults have not saved any money for retirement, and only 40% of non-retired adults think they’re retirement savings are on track.
Based on WalletHub’s data, Virginia ranked No. 16 for affordability, and No. 11 for both quality of life and healthcare. Florida ranked No. 9 for affordability, No. 4 for quality of life, and No. 28 for healthcare.
According to WalletHub, Alabama has the lowest adjusted cost-of-living index for retirees, whereas Hawaii has the highest. Hawaii also has the highest life expectancy (Mississippi had the lowest). Maine has the biggest population of adults aged 65 and older, whereas Utah has the lowest number of older adults.
Vermont has the highest share of the 65-and-older population still working, according to the list, whereas West Virginia had the lowest number of older adults in the workforce.
For more state news, visit this page.
