Best Places To Retire In Each State

(UPDATED 1/21/2020) Sacramento, CA is “Best” on the 2018 Forbes Best Places To Retire In Each State list.

Each year Forbes ranks the world in a variety of categories – and in 2018 Forbes created its first list of the Best Places To Retire In Each State. In California, Sacramento ranked “Best” followed by Eureka which was ranked “Runner Up”.

The list was compiled by comparing data on over 650 places across 50 states.  Forbes was seeking relatively affordable places with high quality retirement living and populations of 10,000 or more.

Forbes noted that the key word, when it comes to affordable, is “relatively” as some states are just a lot more expensive than others.  That is a fact not lost on Californians.

SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)

As most folks who move in retirement choose to remain within the same state, Forbes looked past high costs and state taxes when developing the 2018 list.  It was noted, however, that three-quarters of the 100 places identified have median home prices below the national average of $269,600.

Forbes looked at a range of factors when judging quality of life.  Among the factors were:

• Doctor availability
• Serious crime rate
• Ranking on the Milken Institute list of best cities for successful aging
• Air Quality
• Walkability
• Bikeability

Forbes did not consider data on local school districts as the focus of the list is retirement.  They did, however, consider the presence of colleges a plus as colleges tend to expand cultural and other amenities for senior citizens.

Forbes is certainly right on that score.  A home-town example is the partnership between members of the Sacramento area Renaissance Society and California State University, Sacramento.

See related blog post:  Sacramento Renaissance Society

Forbes Profile of Sacramento

The Forbes “Profile” of Sacramento states:

“The state’s capital is the economic and cultural core of the surrounding area.  The city is home to California State University, Sacramento, which is one of the twenty-three campuses of the California State University system.  Located nearby is the University of California, Davis and affiliated UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital.  The oldest part of town besides Sutter’s Fort is Old Sacramento, which consists of cobbled streets and many historic buildings, several from the 1850’s and 1860’s.  Museums in the area include the California Hall of Fame, California State Railroad Museum and the Crocker Art Museum, the oldest public art museum west of the Mississippi River.”

For a complete list of statistics on Sacramento (as of October 2018) see the 2018 Forbes Best Places to Retire In Each State list.

Additional Sacramento Statistics

A few of the October 2018 statistics I found interesting were:

• Median Household Income: $65,610
• Median Home Price: $369,000
• Housing Affordability: 117
• Cost of Living: 10% above national average
• Average Days Above 90 Degrees: 77 (national average is 37)
• Average Days Below 32 degrees: 17 (national average is 88)

Note:  Value of 100 means that a family with a median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a typical mortgage on a median-priced single-family home.  An index above 100 signifies that the family has surplus income.

So, there you have it – Sacramento is not only a great place to live and work, but also a great place to retire (if you can afford it)!

See related blog post:  Where Does Sacramento Rank?

UPDATES

(1/21/2020) Broken link repaired.

Comments on the 2018 Forbes Best Places to Retire in Each State list?

Subscribe to SacramentoRevealed.com to receive the weekly (with an occasional hiatus) newsletter direct to your inbox!  Comments are welcome.