Tips from retired teacher Larry Kramer, world traveler
Retired Braintree teacher Larry Kramer has been traveling since he was a teenager. Life on the move takes some advance work, he says.
Sue Scheible, The Patriot Ledger
Congratulations, Naples. When it comes to the best places to retire in the U.S., you are simply the best, the cream of the crop and second to none.
U.S. News and World Report, considered a global authority in rankings and consumer advice, announced today Naples tops the 2024-25 list for Best Places to Retire. It’s impressive recognition when you consider 150 cites were evaluated.
And just as impressive is Naples climbing all of the way to the top of the rankings after being No. 28 in in 2023-2024.
In a press release, U.S. News and World Report said the rankings are based on how well cities meet American retirees’ expectations, with measures including happiness, affordability, health care, desirability, retiree taxes and job market.
This year, U.S. News adjusted its scoring to make happiness the most heavily weighted of the six factors in the 2025 Best Places to Retire methodology, which also includes indexes for affordability, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability and job market.
It is arguably the reason Naples finished first in the rankings this year.
According to the press release, retirees noted overall happiness of a place’s residents as the top consideration when determining a place to retire this year, helping Naples secure the No. 1 rank.
Naples also scored high in desirability, retiree taxes and job market.
“The 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings reflect top cities across the country that best meet retiree needs and desires,” says Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News. “What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar, but is also a place for enjoyment. This is why the Midwest and South dominate the top 25.”
Only two other Florida cities made the Top-10 − Sarasota (No. 4) and Jacksonville (No. 7).
You can check out the full rankings here.
About the U.S. News and World Report Best Places to Retire list
The six measures factored into this year’s rankings were weighted based on a public survey of individuals across the U.S. who are at or approaching retirement age (45 and older) to find out what matters most to people when they’re considering where to retire.
Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings.
Top 10: Best Places to Retire in 2025
- 1-Naples
- 2-Virginia Beach, Virginia
- 3-New York City, New York
- 4-Sarasota, Florida
- 5-Boise, Idaho
- 6-Raleigh, North Carolina
- 7-Jacksonville, Florida
- 8-Huntsville, Alabama
- 9-Charlotte, North Carolina
- 10-Fort Wayne, Indiana