Dreaming of retirement? This North Carolina city was named a top spot in the US
North Carolina is home to one of the most popular cities for retirees, a new study finds.
Raleigh ranks No. 7 on a list of places where people ages 60 or older are moving, according to results from the financial company SmartAsset.
As a whole, North Carolina gained the third-most retirees of any state, findings released Tuesday show. More than 14,000 people near retirement age were added to the state’s population in 2018, according to SmartAsset.
To come up with the results, the website says it analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data for people ages 60 and older. SmartAsset then compared the number of people who moved into and out of each area to determine population trends, results show.
It turns out, Raleigh hasn’t been in the annual rankings for long.
“In 2017, there was net outflow of seniors from Raleigh, North Carolina,” SmartAsset said. “Fewer than 1,000 seniors ages 60 and older moved to the city, while almost 1,200 left it. That trend reversed in 2018, with close to 1,900 seniors moving into the city from a different state and only about 700 leaving it.”
This time around, it seems retirees were trying to escape the cold.
“Nine of the top 10 cities where retirees are moving are located in areas of the country that are not known for frigid weather,” SmartAsset said.
The results come two months after the moving company U-Haul announced the Raleigh-Durham area was its top place for growth in 2019. The region saw a spike in one-way U-Haul truck arrivals, according to the company.
And the Triangle may not be just attracting retirees.
Earlier this year, the metro area was named the third-most attractive for U.S. millennials, people ages 25 to 34. To get the results, the blog CommercialCafé studied migration and job trends, The News & Observer reported.
The Raleigh region isn’t the only one that made it into national rankings.
In its study, SmartAsset names Greensboro the No. 13 place for retirees on the move. The website only lists the top 25 cities.
Overall, Florida was the most popular state for retirees, results show. SmartAsset says the city with the biggest population boost was Mesa, Arizona, roughly 18 miles southeast of Phoenix.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Dreaming of retirement? This North Carolina city was named a top spot in the US."
