Retiring? Worcester, Springfield Top Best Places To Do It: U.S. News

WORCESTER, MA — Ask anyone in Massachusetts: the best place to live out your last few years on Earth is Worcester. Or Springfield.

This week, U.S. News & World Report released its ranking of Best Places to Retire, and the only two to crack the top 100 in Massachusetts were Worcester and Springfield. Keep in mind this is a list that ranked Harrisburg, PA, No. 1, and put Flint, Mich., ahead of cities surrounded by natural beauty, culture and attractions like Boise and Las Vegas.

This year’s list is based on the evaluation of the nation’s 150 most populated metropolitan areas based on how well they meet Americans’ expectations for retirement. Measures used in the evaluation were affordability, health care, desirability, retiree taxes, the job market and overall happiness.

Worcester ranked No. 35 overall for its proximity to good healthcare — the sprawling UMass medical school campus is located in the city — and relatively cheap housing, although that stock is on the decline. U.S. News also wrote very generously about Worcester's cultural scene. Keep in mind, Worcester doesn't have a single movie theater.

"Worcester provides an excellent cultural life, including restaurants, concert and theater venues, and the Worcester Art Museum," U.S. News wrote.

Springfield ranked No. 39 overall, and got higher marks than Worcester for housing affordability. It's also got the basketball museum, a casino and a nice river.

If those two cities don't pique your interest, Pennsylvania is apparently a retirement paradise. Cities in the state oddly dominated the top five in this year’s list, and PA had seven metro areas in the top 10:

1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
2. Reading, Pennsylvania
3. Allentown, Pennsylvania
4. Scranton, Pennsylvania
5. New York City
6. York, Pennsylvania
7. Daytona Beach, Florida
8. Youngstown, Ohio
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
10. Ann Arbor, Michigan

Record-high interest rates in the housing market, inflation and extreme weather patterns all figured into retirees’ choices on where to live, Beverly Harzog, personal finance expert at U.S. News, said in a news release.

“As retirees consider where to spend their golden years, they want areas that not only give them the best bang for their buck, but places where they can live a happy, healthy life,” Harzog said. “This is why Pennsylvania dominated the Best Places to Retire ranking’s top positions. …”

Florida also ranked high as a desirable place to retire, with six metro areas in the top 25. Also notable:

• Adjustments made for affordability and retiree taxes allowed Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to move up 19 spots to No. 17;
• Trenton, New Jersey, moved up 25 positions to No. 29; and
• Rochester, New York, moved up 29 positions to No. 21.

Affordability is the most heavily weighted of the six factors used to rank the 2024 Best Places to Retire. Data points were expended to better encapsulate a place’s strengths and weaknesses. The results are also based on a survey to determine if people want to retire to a given metro area.