Top 10 states where retirees are moving

Warm weather remains an attraction for older Americans — 6 of the top 10 states for retirement-driven moves are in the Sun Belt. But that region is also more prone to natural disasters and

extreme weather. Ben Collier, a professor at Temple University who studies climate and home insurance, says that factor could be diverting some retirees to other parts of the country.

Homeowners insurance rates “are going up in California. They’re going up in Florida. Especially in higher-risk areas, these costs are becoming really substantial for people,” Collier says.

“It makes sense that if you’re thinking about where to live and you’re on a fixed income, insurance costs are an important source of uncertainty.” According to financial data firm

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), property insurance rates average $6,225 a year in Miami, $3,675 in Houston and $3,602 in Tampa, compared to a national average of $2,290.  Some homebuyers

are taking a risk on higher deductibles, a March 2025 ICE report found. But “even for people who have insurance, the idea of living through a major disaster is really daunting,” Collier

says. “It would be so disruptive to your life. Some retired folks would just prefer to avoid if they could.” Anne Meczywor, an agent at Roberts & Associates Realty in the western

Massachusetts town of Lenox, got a taste of that sentiment last year. “We were getting quite a few calls from California when the fires were really prevalent,” she says. ‘YOU GET WHAT YOU

PAY FOR’ Massachusetts does have some things working against it, including the nation’s second-highest cost of living, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, and

a reputation for high taxes that led it to be dubbed “Taxachusetts” in the 1970s. However, a 2024 WalletHub analysis puts the Bay State in the middle of the pack for state tax burden

(20th), with relatively high income and property taxes but low sales and excise taxes. And _U.S. News and World Report_ ranks it second among the states for health care, behind only Hawaii.

Marquit says Hire A Helper has found in past research that people moving for retirement tend to be more affluent than the average American. The median household income for retirees who

relocated in 2023 was $88,347, 17 percent above the national figure. “They are retiring a little more well-off, and they’re able to move to more expensive places such as Massachusetts,”

Marquit says. “They can afford to be picky and say, ‘This is the lifestyle I want and, yes, I’m willing to pay a little more for it.’ ” Chaklos is taking the good with the bad. She recently

received what she called a “giant” and “annoying” excise tax bill for her new car. (Massachusetts is one of 27 states that charges a motor vehicle excise tax.) But “if you look at the

whole picture,” she adds, “you get what you pay for.”