Best Place To Retire In MD Happens To Be In Howard County, Says U.S. News Report

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The best place in Maryland to retire happens to be Ellicott City, according to a new ranking Tuesday from U.S. News & World Report.

The Howard County community ranked 89th out of the top 250 places to retire in the nation.

The news outlet’s ranking of the 250 Best Places to Retire in the United States includes one city in Maryland.

The rankings are based on how cities meet American retirees’ expectations against measures that include quality of life, affordability, health care, retiree taxes, job market and, for the first time, population and migration for retirees aged 55 and older.

Ellicott City gets high marks in the ranking with a score of 5.9 for offering a higher value of living compared to similarly sized cities and because the job market in Ellicott City is better than the national average, the report stated.

Other cities in the top 10 for best places to retire in Maryland are:

1. Ellicott City
2. Columbia
3. Towson
4. Bethesda
5. Hagerstown
6. Rockville
7. Bowie
8. Germantown
9. Gaithersburg
10. Silver Spring

The rankings were expanded this year to evaluate more than 850 U.S. cities, and the number ranked was increased to 250 from 150 in prior years. Quality of life was the most heavily weighted factor in the rankings, which also includes indexes for affordability, health care quality, retiree taxes and the job market.

“The expansion of the 2026 Best Places to Retire rankings to evaluate over 850 cities enables retirees to have a more granular starting point when deciding where to spend their golden years,” Tim Smart, contributing editor and author of U.S. News & World Report’s retirement newsletter, “YOLO: Your Smart Guide to Retirement,” said in a news release.

“Whether seeking a bustling city or a quiet town, retirees are now empowered with a more precise view of the best places to settle down,” Smart said.

U.S. News’ expansion of evaluated cities and new data considerations paved the way for first-time entrant, Midland, Michigan, to secure the No. 1 rank. Midland scored high in affordability and retiree taxes, helping it to lock in the top spot.

The top 10 cities for retirees nationwide are:

1. Midland, Michigan
2. Weirton, West Virginia
3. Homosassa Springs, Florida
4. The Woodlands, Texas
5. Spring, Texas
6. Rancho Rio, New Mexico
7. Spring Hill, Florida
8. Altoona, Pennsylvania
9. Palm Coast, Florida
10. Lynchburg, Virginia