Best Place To Retire? Des Moines Scores High Among 100 Cities On A List Released This Week

DES MOINES, IA — When it comes to scoring high on the retirement living scale, Des Moines beat out popular sun spots like Miami, Fla., Phoenix, Ariz., and Honolulu, Hi., on a list released this week by U.S. News & World Report. The capital city ranked 16 among the 100 cities on the list.

Sarasota, Fla., outranked all other cities when it came to the overall happiness of its residents, based on criteria including housing affordability, the happiness index, quality of healthcare, retiree taxes, job market and desirability. The top five on U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best Places to Retire list also included Lancaster, Pa.; San Antonio, Texas; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and El Paso, Texas.

Wondering what other cities made the list of top retirement spots? See all 100 of them here. The list includes the 100 largest cities in the country, but did not take into account some smaller communities popular with retirees, it noted. Scores were given in each category by surveying pre-retirees ages 45 to 59 and retirees 60 and older on areas that mattered most to them.

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U.S. News noted that Des Moines earlier was named the ninth best place to live in the country in one of its rankings. As for retirement destinations, it said this about Des Moines: “The capital of this so-called flyover state may not top your to-visit list, but Des Moines is a great place to live and raise a family. Elegant Colonial and Tudor-style homes built in the early 1900's hide in quiet neighborhoods minutes from buzzy downtown, where lofts and condos draw the millennial crowd. Many families with kids flock to the suburbs where new housing developments continually pop up.

And there's plenty to do and see in Des Moines. Cultural events and festivals draw all ages to the downtown area. One-of-a-kind shops, locally owned restaurants and hip bars enliven entertainment districts. And plenty of bike trails and parks (and even a few lakes) provide opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The metro area of more than 600,000 has a small-town, know-your-neighbor feel to it. It's a place where you'll bump into people you know at the grocery store and get invited to backyard barbecues. Newcomers, take note: The people of Des Moines are some of the nicest you'll ever meet."

Des Moines scored 7.1 overall, with its highest category being affordability/value at 8.5 and the lowest, desirability, at 5.3.

Florida had two cities in the top 10 and Texas had four.

Photo: Western Gateway Park in Downtown Des Moines, City of Des Moines website