Retirees have different requirements than recent college graduates or families with young children when it comes to a hometown—though the overall livability of a city is crucial for everyone. While retirees have historically flocked to sunny states like Arizona and Florida—abundant with golf courses, beaches and bingo nights—or moved closer to family, that’s starting to change. Many retirees simply want to live in one of the least stressed states or a place where their retirement dollars go a little further, such as one of the U.S. states where you can retire on $65,000 a year.
However, this isn’t your grandparents’ retirement, and many retirees want to use their hard-earned spare time to enjoy activities they fell in love with during their working years but didn’t have the time to appreciate fully. Think hiking, skiing, mountain biking, fishing, hunting and more.
Online insurance agency BizInsure published a report last month sharing details on the Western state retirees have been flocking to over the past decade. Keep reading to find out where this is and what makes it a haven for retirees.
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What’s the methodology of the study?
The methodology behind BizInsure’s report on retirement boomtowns relied heavily on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), which sampled demographic data on 3.5 million U.S. households.
It considered factors such as the number of residents aged 65 and older and their migration patterns within the U.S. The study also considered the basics—such as affordability and access to health care—and additional amenities, including public transportation, senior centers and golf courses.
Which state did more retirees move to in the past decade?
More retirees moved to Wyoming than any other state in the past decade. Depending on your retirement needs and desires, Wyoming has a lot to offer.
Why is Wyoming popular with retirees?
Wyoming is popular with retirees for a host of reasons, as we detail below, but if you need to live near a Costco or want access to Broadway shows, it might not be the state for you.
Wyoming is tax-friendly
Wyoming is tax-friendly for everyone, seniors included. It’s one of a handful of states that don’t tax Social Security benefits, pensions or 401(k) and IRA distributions—plus Wyoming doesn’t have an estate tax.
And the Equality State is getting even friendlier. “A state constitutional amendment passed in late 2024 that separates residential taxes from commercial taxes, benefitting residential taxpayers,” explains Annette (Annie) Wedgewood, broker/owner at Altitude Real Estate in Rock Springs, Wyoming. “Before that, residences and businesses were taxed the same.”
Wyoming’s effective property tax rate is 0.56%, which is in stark contrast to states like Vermont, where the property tax rate is 1.83%, and New Jersey, where the property tax rate is 2.23%, according to January 2024 data from Rocket Mortgage.
Wyoming has abundant outdoor recreation
People used to retire to Florida or Arizona to golf and maybe play a little tennis or pickleball, but they aren’t the only outdoor activities that are great for active seniors. Research shows the importance of hobbies and how learning new hobbies later in life benefits both your body and your brain.
Wedgewood is a big fan of hiking, stand-up paddle boarding or just heading out to one of Wyoming’s many dirt roads for a long walk or run. “Each part of Wyoming has different things to offer,” she says. And, of course, there are winter sports, such as downhill and cross-country skiing and ice skating. “You can do almost anything you love to do here, unless you have an issue with being cold or in the wind!”
Wyoming has affordable real estate, in some towns …
Some areas of Wyoming are notoriously expensive and have experienced significant increases in housing costs over the past decade. Jackson Hole in Teton County is one of those places, due in part to its world-class skiing, top-notch restaurants, stellar hiking and proximity to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Wyoming isn’t the most affordable state to retire in, though Wedgewood says many parts of the state have reasonable housing costs and plenty to offer folks seeking outdoor recreation without high costs and massive crowds.
“Affordable is relative,” Wedgewood says. “It all depends on what your wants and needs are.” Casper, where Wedgewood was born, is the second most populous city in Wyoming after the capital, Cheyenne, with a population of around 59,000. Casper is well situated in the central part of the state, and the weather is quite pleasant.
Wyoming’s weather is sunny
If you’re the type of person who likes living in flip-flops and strolling on the beach, Wyoming might not be for you, but that said, the weather might not be as cold and wintery as you think. According to Visit Casper, the city experiences 220 days of sunshine per year. State weather data ranks Wyoming 9th in the U.S. for sunshine, receiving 75% sun during the summer and 60% in the winter months. Although many people might expect brutal winters in Wyoming, the average monthly lows from December through February typically hover in the high teens. But sun isn’t everything—there’s also wind.
“We get calls from people in tornado alley who are sick of the wind, but Wyoming is windy and a lot of people don’t realize this,” Wedgewood says. Wyoming is the windiest state in the contiguous U.S., and Wedgewood says that in addition to general windiness, high-wind events are common, with gusts reaching 75 to 80 mph.
Despite the sometimes adverse weather conditions, the roads are generally well maintained. However, it’s not unusual for the interstates to be completely shut down due to weather—snow, wind or hail—about once a week. And yes, these shutdowns can happen any time of year.
According to the National Weather Service, Wyoming weather is unpredictable. It’s not unusual for Mother’s Day to feature storms dumping 10 to 20 inches of snow across much of the state, while other years see sunshine and temperatures in the 70s and 80s on the same holiday in May.
Wyoming has a relaxed environment filled with natural beauty and local culture
Wyoming doesn’t have a fast-paced lifestyle, and most residents prefer this, and the relaxed environment—jeans are welcome in most places—and a slower pace will appeal to retirees looking for a change from city living.
Although Wedgewood grew up in Casper, she now lives in Rock Springs, a city of 23,000 located in the southern part of the state, near the borders of Utah and Colorado. Rock Springs has a rich mining history and is close to many outdoor opportunities, such as the Green River, which is known for fishing, wildlife watching and river sports.
This part of Wyoming is also the gateway to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, where visitors to the enormous reservoir can enjoy boating, fishing, water skiing, jet skiing and houseboating.
For those beach lovers looking for some sand, Wyoming has you covered too. The Killpecker Sand Dunes are the second-largest active sand dune field in the world. Visitors to Killpecker can sand surf, ride dune buggies, go horseback riding and play beach volleyball. For those seeking less active outdoor activities, Killpecker also boasts the world’s largest elk herd, wild horses and an impressive array of birds for folks wanting to kick back with their binoculars.
As far as culture, Wyoming has it, though it looks different than it does in our country’s major metropolitan areas. For example, cowboy culture is alive in museums, rodeos and saloons throughout the state, and cultural centers and powwows celebrate Wyoming’s Indigenous people and their heritage.
“I’m only three hours from anything I want to do,” Wedgewood says.
Health care might be a challenge
Health care can be difficult in Wyoming, particularly in more remote areas of the state, which is something retirees should keep in mind. Additionally, depending on where they’re moving from, new residents may not have access to the products and services they’re accustomed to.
“In some places there aren’t organic grocery stores that people like,” Wedgewood says, but she points out how she has learned to shop when she visits towns like Jackson or Salt Lake City, Utah, both of which are about three hours from where she lives.
Wedgewood suggests that people seeking access to health care should consider larger towns, such as Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie. “Otherwise, people will have to travel,” she says. Laramie and Cheyenne are both about two hours from Denver for specialized health-care needs, but Wedgewood points out that some seniors may not have the means to travel that far and should consider both their present and future needs.
What other states are retirees moving to?
After Wyoming, the rest of the states are, quite literally, all over the map. The nine other states in the top 10 for retirees are:
2. South Carolina
3. Idaho
4. Maine
5. New Mexico
6. Connecticut
7. Hawaii
8. Mississippi
9. Delaware
10. Tennessee
RELATED:
- New Report: This Is the Happiest State for Retirees
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- New Report: This Is the Most Welcoming City in the U.S.
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Sources:
- BizInsure: “Forget Florida: Where Boomers are Retiring in 2025 — and Where They’re Going Next”
- Kiplinger: “Retirement Taxes: How All 50 States Tax Retirees”
- Rocket Mortgage: “Property taxes by state: A comparative look at the highest to lowest states”
- Visit Casper: “Weather”
- Water Resources Data System & State Climate Office: “Solar Radiation”
- National Weather Service: “A Wet Weekend: Significant Snow for Some this Mother’s Day Weekend?”
- Annette (Annie) Wedgewood, broker/owner at Altitude Real Estate in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
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