Top 15 U.S. Cities Where Boomers Are Moving

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Americans are living longer, often in robust good health and eager to get on with the next chapter of their post-career lives. 

Baby boomers in this decade are surging into retirement, and many more remain in the workforce with retirement upcoming. For some seniors, continuing in work has become a regular component of retirement planning.

Recent research by SmartAsset found that as boomers transition into retired life, many will move to a city more suitable for their new cash flows and routines. Some places may offer better tax advantages, lower cost of living, proximity to family, comfortable weather and other amenities for retirees. 

Retirees are likely to avoid cities that fall down in these factors.

Still other seniors will decide to use two homes during their retirement years. Known in the financial planning community as “snowbirding,” this is a strategy and lifestyle available to Americans of far more modest means than you might think — after tax concerns and other financial considerations have been taken into account.

Ultimately, the migration of boomers — and their economic power — will affect the local economies they move to and from.

With this in mind, SmartAsset examined Census Bureau data for 268 of the largest U.S. cities to see where people between the ages of 55 and 74 are moving. Researchers ranked cities by the percentage of the total population represented by boomers who moved into each place in 2022. 

The data came from the U.S. Census Bureau 1-Year American Community Survey for 2022. It included 268 cities that had available data and 100,000 or more people ages 1 or older. City population figures are as of midyear 2022. 

See the accompanying  gallery for 15 cities where boomers are moving.

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