These North Carolina Cities Are Among The Best Places To Retire In The U.S.

By Sarah Tate

January 6, 2023

Photo: Getty Images

Finding a place to settle down and retire in your forever home can be a big decision. Some cities may have more leisurely activities to choose from while others may be easier on your wallet.

WalletHub recently compared more than 180 cities across the country to determine which are are the best places to retire, and six cities in North Carolina found a spot on the list.

So which North Carolina cities are among the best places in the country to retire?

No. 28: Raleigh
No. 76: Durham
No. 85: Charlotte
No. 130: Winston-Salem
No. 133: Fayetteville
No. 162: Greensboro

According to the list, six cities in North Carolina were ranked among the best places to retire, but Raleigh got the lead of all the others to claim the top spot for the state. The state's capital city found itself in the top 30 overall largely in part due to its relative affordability to other cities around the country as well as its health care. While the other cities placed lower on the list, each ranked high in terms of affordability.

These are the Top 20 cities in the U.S. to retire:

Charleston, South Carolina
Orlando, Florida
Cincinatti, Ohio
Miami, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
San Francisco, California
Scottsdale, Arizona
Wilmington, Delaware
Tampa, Florida
Salt Lake City, Utah
Casper, Wyoming
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Atlanta, Georgia
Denver, Colorado
St. Petersburg, Florida
Boise, Idaho
Cape Coral, Florida
Las Vegas, Nevada
Pembroke Pines, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii

To determine the list, WalletHub compared 182 cities across the country using four factors: affordability, activities, quality of life and health care. These factors were then evaluated across 46 relevant metrics, including adjusted cost of living, annual cost of in-home serves, recreation and senior centers per capita, music venues per capita, bingo halls per capita, elderly-friendly labor market, age-friendly community, mild weather, walk score, life expectancy and many more.

Check out WalletHub's full report here to see the best cities in the country to retire.