Best Cities for Retirees Who Want to Travel - 2019 Edition

Behind housing costs, travel is often the second-biggest expense for healthy retirees who have a desire to explore. With more spare time, retirees are able to take advantage of visiting both domestic and international destinations. In fact, according to September 2018 survey data, the AARP found that baby boomers expect to take four to five leisure trips in 2019 and plan on spending more than $6,600 on their travels. 

In this study, we uncovered the best home-base cities for retirees who want to travel. We considered the availability of flight options and cost of living in 54 of the largest cities in the U.S. Specifically, we took into account the following 10 metrics: annual domestic flights, annual international flights, annual number of international destinations, average cost of a domestic flight, effective tax rate for seniors, property crime rate per 100,000 residents, median annual housing costs, non-housing cost of living, travel agency density and the concentration of residents who are 60 and older. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

Key Findings

• Cities in Florida and Texas do well. Seven of the cities in our top 11 places for retirees who want to travel are located in Florida or Texas, both tax-friendly states for retirees and home to prominent international airports, including Miami International Airport, Tampa International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
• Some unexpected spots. New York and Los Angeles might not immediately come to mind as cities for retirees given their high cost of living, but they rank well in our study because of airport accessibility. New York had the top number of annual international flights and unique international destinations in 2018 and followed only Chicago for its number of annual domestic flights. Los Angeles ranks third on both the number of annual international flights and unique international destinations and had the seventh-highest number of 2018 domestic flights of any city in our study.

1. Miami, FL

Miami, Florida ranks in the top half of the 54 total cities for all but two metrics we considered and is a particularly great place for retirees who want to travel internationally. With 90,686 departing international flights going to 179 unique international destinations, Miami had the second-highest number of both international flight departures as well as international destinations in 2018, following only New York. Miami falls behind on non-housing cost of living, but this might not be a big issue for retirees who are out of town most of the time.

2. Fort Lauderdale, FL

Just north of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Florida has a high concentration of seniors living in the city and relatively low tax rates. Specifically, 26.4% of the population in Fort Lauderdale was 60 or older in 2018, the second-highest percentage of any city in our top 11 and the third-highest overall. This is great news for seniors looking to travel with other retirees in a group. Moreover, the effective tax rate for a senior earning $50,000 in income annually from a combination of Social Security, a private pension, retirement savings and earnings would be taxed 9.42%, the lowest possible rate. At that low rate, seniors may have more post-tax income to devote to traveling.

3. Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas, Nevada is already a popular travel destination but may also be a great home base for retirees looking to travel, as there are many affordable flights out of the city. According to Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data, the average cost of a domestic flight departing from Las Vegas was $248 in the first quarter of 2019, the lowest of any city in our study. Like cities in Florida and Texas, Las Vegas is a tax-friendly spot for retirees. Additionally, it ranks within the top 15 for its travel agency density and its concentration of senior citizens.

4. New York, NY

Though New York, New York does not immediately come to mind as a hotspot for retirees, it ranks well in our study because of the availability of air travel. New York is the only city in the U.S. with three major airports within 25 miles of the city center: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). In 2018, there were 466,271 domestic flights and 148,708 international flights departing from those three airports, the second-highest number of domestic flights leaving from any city in our study (following only Chicago, Illinois) and the highest number of international flights. 

New York also has a high concentration of travel agencies for seniors looking for help in planning a trip. Using data from the County Business Patterns Survey, we found that there were approximately five travel agencies per 1,000 establishments in 2016, the second-highest concentration of any city in the study and highest concentration of the cities in our top 11.

5. Orlando, FL

Orlando, Florida does particularly well on the average cost of a domestic flight and effective tax rate for retirees. At the end of the first quarter in 2019, the average cost of a domestic flight was $261, the second-lowest price of any city our study. The effective tax rate for a retiree earning $15,000 from Social Security, $10,000 from a private pension, $15,000 from a retirement savings account like a 401(k) or an IRA and $10,000 in wages is 9.42%, tied for the lowest rate with other cities in tax-friendly states for retirement, such as Texas and Nevada.

6. Dallas, TX

Dallas, Texas has two airports within 25 miles of its city center, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL). Between those two airports, there were 366,424 departing domestic flights and 34,209 departing international flights in 2018, the fourth- and 10th-highest amounts of any city in the study, respectively. Unfortunately, retirees in Dallas may end up paying more for air travel than retirees in other cities. Data from the BTS showed that at the end of the first quarter in 2019 the average cost of a domestic flight departing from Dallas was $407, the fifth-highest amount for this metric across all 54 cities in our study.

7. Tampa, FL

Property crime rates in Tampa, Florida are low, meaning that retirees will have less to worry about in terms of their home when they are away. Specifically, in 2018, there were a total of 6,576 property crimes committed in Tampa, or a rate of 1,674 per 100,000 residents, the second-lowest rate for this metric of any city in our study. It’s good that Florida is a tax-friendly state for retirees with a low effective tax rate for seniors. What’s more, Tampa has a top-10 rate for the average cost of a domestic flight, at a low $311.

8. Los Angeles, CA

As with New York, the top-11 appearance from Los Angeles, California on this list may come as a surprise given the expense associated with living there. However, travel accessibility outweighs expense. There were 265,451 domestic departures and 72,381 international departures in 2018 from airports within 25 miles of Los Angeles’ city center, primarily Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Additionally, many of those international flights may be going West. As a result, seniors hoping to travel to Asia or Australia may prefer Los Angeles to the many East Coast cities on our list. Furthermore, Los Angeles has a top-10 rate for travel agency density, which means any retirees looking for a little extra help with their travel plans will be able to find it easily.

9. Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a particularly affordable city, meaning that retirees may be able to dedicate more of their savings toward travel. Median annual housing costs in 2018, at $11,688, ranked the lowest here across any city in our top 11 as well as 11th-lowest overall. Though average non-housing cost of living fluctuates less between cities than median annual housing costs, Philadelphia ranks well on this metric as well, with the lowest non-housing cost of living in our top 11 and the second-lowest across all 54 cities in our study, according to data from the MIT Living Wage Study.

10. Houston, TX (tie)

Houston, Texas has a lower concentration of seniors than most of cities, ranking 46th on this metric with only 15.6% of the population 60 or older in 2018. However, it ranks well across the board in terms of flight availability, with the ninth-highest number of domestic flights, fifth-highest number of international flights and seventh-highest number of international destinations in 2018. 

10. Fort Myers, FL (tie)

Tied with Houston, Texas, Fort Myers, Florida has fewer domestic and international departures than most other cities. In 2018, there were only 34,085 domestic flights and 1,206 international flights leaving from Fort Myers. However, a high concentration of seniors, 31.5%, suggests that Fort Myers is a great place for retirees in general. Furthermore, Fort Myers ranks sixth overall for its low average cost of a domestic flight from its principal airport, coming in at less than $300.

To rank the best cities for retirees who want to travel, we looked at data on 54 cities, considering the following 10 metrics:

• Annual domestic flights. This is the total number of domestic departures made from all airports within 25 miles of the city center in 2018. Data comes from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
• Annual international flights. This is the total number of international departures made from all airports within 25 miles of the city center in 2018. Data comes from the BTS.
• Number of international destinations. This is the number of unique international destinations available when departing from all airports within 25 miles of the city center in 2018. Data comes from the BTS.
• Cost of the average domestic flight. This is the average cost of a domestic flight from the principal airport in each city. Data comes from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and is for 2019.
• Effective tax rate for retirees. This is the estimated income tax rate for a retiree with $50,000 in annual income. That income is split between $15,000 from Social Security, $10,000 from a private pension, $15,000 from a retirement savings account like a 401(k) or an IRA and $10,000 in wages.
• Property crime rate per 100,000 residents. This is the property crime rate per 100,000 residents. Crime data comes from the 2018 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Database and population data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2018 1-year American Community Survey.
• Median annual housing costs. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2018 1-year American Community Survey.
• Non-housing cost of living. This is measured at the metro area level. Data comes from the MIT Living Wage Calculator and was pulled in October 2019.
• Travel agency density. This is the number of travel agencies per 1,000 establishments. Data comes from the 2016 County Business Patterns Survey.
• Concentration of seniors. The is the percentage of the population that is 60 or older. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2018 1-year American Community Survey.

We created our final list by first ranking each city for each metric. We then found each city’s average ranking. The average cost of a domestic flight, effective tax rate for seniors and median annual housing costs were double-weighted and all other metrics were given a single weight. We used the average ranking to determine a final score. The city with the best average ranking received a score of 100 and the city with the lowest received a score of 0. 

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Questions about our study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com