These NC cities are among the nation’s top destinations for retirees, report says
North Carolina is home to two of the nation’s top destinations for retirees, a new report finds.
Charlotte and Cary rank in the top 10 on a list of cities attracting people ages 60 and older, according to results released last month from personal finance website SmartAsset.
Among all states, North Carolina was named the third most popular for people around retirement age. Statewide, more than 19,000 older adults were added to the state’s population in 2019, results show.
To determine the rankings, SmartAsset said it reviewed Census data for states and 177 of the largest U.S. cities. The figures were from 2019, the most recent year available.
For each place, analysts compared the number of people ages 60 or older who moved in and out to identify population trends, according to SmartAsset.
Of all North Carolina cities, Charlotte took the highest spot at No. 6.
“Roughly 2,500 seniors moved out of the city to a different state while just over 3,700 moved in,” SmartAsset said in its report. “In total, the net migration of seniors to Charlotte in 2019 was 1,290.”
Cary, just west of Raleigh, wasn’t far behind in the rankings at No. 8.
“Cary has a relatively affordable cost of living and temperate weather, attracting more than 1,050 retirees to relocate there in 2019,” SmartAsset said.
However, both Charlotte and Cary missed out on other recent retirement lists.
In August, a Forbes list named Asheville, Raleigh and Winston-Salem among the country’s best places to retire.
The same month, no North Carolina cities landed at the top of a national SmartAsset list of places offering health care, safety and other factors that make them desirable for older adults, McClatchy News reported.
Still, data show people are flocking to the state.
In SmartAsset’s most recent retirement rankings, other North Carolina cities in the top 25 were Fayetteville at No. 13; Greensboro at No. 23; and Raleigh at No. 25.
Raleigh fell from a No. 7 spot on the list last year, when the city’s net migration of older adults was about 1,200. This time around, Raleigh added 584 people from that age group, results show.
Greensboro also went down on the list after holding a No. 13 spot last year, McClatchy News reported.
Overall, the nation’s most popular place for retirees was Mesa, Arizona, just outside Phoenix. Of all states, Florida was the top destination for older adults to move, according to SmartAsset.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 9:48 AM with the headline "These NC cities are among the nation’s top destinations for retirees, report says."
