Florida’s balmy weather and bustling beaches are the stuff of retirement dreams but its senior living communities are facing serious competition from other states.
The Sunshine State only had one metro area - Miami-Ft. Lauderdale - in the top 10 for "best"-rated senior living communities, according to an analysis of more than 540,00 consumer surveys by U.S. News & World Report published Tuesday.
Communities - including independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities - were designated "best" if they earned high scores on factors like value, activities and safety.
New York City ranked first with 65 “Best” facilities - Chicago (61), Boston (57). Washington D.C. (50) and Los Angeles (41) rounded out the top five. The top 10 was completed by Dallas-Fort Worth (39), Minneapolis-St. Paul (33), Philadelphia (30), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (29) and St. Louis (28).
Orlando (18th) was the only other Florida metro to rank among the top 20 metros highlighted in the survey.
While senior living communities represent only part of a state’s retirement appeal, Florida’s few rankings may be another indication that its once-sterling reputation might be fading.
Florida has struggled to maintain its reputation as a haven for seniors in recent years due to high property prices and cost of living.
More than 500,000 people moved to Florida at the peak of the pandemic, according to the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, causing real estate prices to jump by 51 percent from March 2020 to June 2022.
Florida’s home prices rose more from 2000 to 2024 than any other state, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index.
Those increases have impacted retirees’ relocations, particularly for those who earn $75,000 or less per year, a January analysis from The Wall Street Journal found.
In the meantime, other states have emerged as alternative retirement destinations. North Carolina, Texas and Georgia were the top destinations for Floridians who left the state from 2019 to 2023, according to the Florida chamber of commerce. Each state also had at least one metro ranked among U.S. News’s top 10 for senior living communities:
- North Carolina: Charlotte, 14 facilities
- Texas: Dallas-Forth Worth, 39 facilities; Houston, 25; Austin, 17
- Georgia: Atlanta, 23 facilities.
Meanwhile, retirees who left New York for Florida during the pandemic - more residents moved from the Empire state than any other from 2019 to 2023 - may be frustrated with the lack of quality senior living communities.
The Sunshine State’s four biggest metros - Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and Orlando - had a total of 54 top-rated communities, while New York City alone had 65 locations.
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