These Texas Cities Rank Among the Best for Retirees, Study Finds

Andrew Murray

Tue, Mar 26, 2019, 7:00 PM

With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, as well as representing 20 percent of the American public, there are more and more people looking for a place to retire. As to where baby boomers are looking to settle down, a recent GOBankingRates survey found that 28 percent of retirees want to move to a place with warmer weather in their golden years, such as the south.

With that in mind, the Dallas metro area contains some hidden gem cities that might just be the retiree oasis many are looking for.

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GOBankingRates determined the 30 best southern cities to retire in the U.S. by analyzing the safety (total crimes per 1,000 residents), the percentage of the population age 65 and older and the average cost of living for seniors in 60 of the biggest southern cities by population size.

A livability score as determined by AreaVibes was also applied to each city through an algorithm that takes into account nearby amenities, cost of living, crime rates, education, employment, housing and weather.

Click to See: The Cost to Retire in America’s Warmest Cities

Dallas Metro Is Chock-Full of Hidden Gems

Not only does the Dallas metro area make up six of the top 30 best southern cities for retirees in the study, but it also has two of the top five cities overall in Plano and Irving. Plano comes in at No. 2 overall thanks to its very low crime rate and high livability score.

With a safety score of 19.12, Plano ranks fifth overall in terms of safety while also claiming the highest livability score (91) of all the cities analyzed.

Irving trails right behind Plano with the second-highest livability score of 86 and places 12th in terms of crime rate. Both Plano and Irving use their favorable livability and crime rate scores to more than make up for their low levels of residents that are 65 and older. Plano comes in with 12.1 percent and Irving comes in last with just 7.4 percent of its population being made up of seniors.

Fort Worth completes the top three sweep alongside Plano and Irving in terms of livability with a score of 82.

Overall Rank	City	State	Median list price: Jan. 2019	Cost of Living Index	Annual Expenditures	% of seniors 65 and older	Safety scores (total crimes per 1000 residents)	Livabilty Score
2	Plano	TX	$374,945	119.8	$65,886	12.1%	19.12	91
4	Irving	TX	$359,900	107.5	$59,122	7.4%	29.16	86
13	Fort Worth	TX	$259,000	107.3	$59,012	9.3%	37.89	82
14	Garland	TX	$219,900	107.5	$59,122	11.1%	33.38	78
17	Arlington	TX	$249,900	108.9	$59,892	10.0%	37.66	80
29	Dallas	TX	$370,000	107.7	$59,232	9.8%	40.13	75
Editor’s Note: Overall rank is out of the 60 southern cities originally analyzed.

The Dallas metro racks up more accolades with Fort Worth, Garland and Arlington ranking 13, 14 and 17, respectively, overall.

The city of Dallas itself comes in 29th overall with surprisingly low annual expenditures of $59,232, which is less than both Plano and Arlington.

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While Livability Is High in Dallas, So Too Is the Cost of Living

Even though the Dallas metro area does contain six of the top 30 southern hidden gems for retirees, these cities are carried by their low crime rate and high livability scores. Looking at annual expenditures, all six Dallas metro cities rank above the national average of $54,997. Furthermore, all six Dallas metro cities rank 35th or lower on the overall list in terms of annual expenditures, with Plano ranking among the ten worst at No. 50 (out of 60).

The Dallas metro area is easily the most represented single metro area on the list of the best southern cities for retirees. If you choose to retire in one of these cities, you may not be surrounded by fellow seniors, but you can live comfortably knowing you are among some of the safest cities in the nation which also happen to have some of the best weather and amenities for retirees to enjoy during their time off.

Keep reading to learn about the most affordable places to retire near the beach.

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Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the southern city “gems” that are perfect for retirees by compiling a list of 60 biggest southern cities by population size, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of the South region of the United States. The principal criteria were: 1) Safety scores (total crimes per 1,000 residents) sourced from NeighborhoodScout; (2) Percentage of seniors, sourced from U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts July 2018 data; (3) Livability scores, sourced from AreaVibes; (4) Annual expenditures of a 65-74 year-old, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2017 Consumer Expenditure Survey, which was then adjusted to each city’s respective cost of living, sourced from Sperling’s Best Places. Each individual category is assigned a score, with a lower score indicating a better ranking, and once all the data is compiled all category scores are added together to get a final score so the best southern cities for retirement can be determined. All data compiled on March 5, 2019.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: These Texas Cities Rank Among the Best for Retirees, Study Finds

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