While many Americans retire on a budget, for some, money is no object. These retirees happily settle in areas where the median income tops six figures.
To find the richest retirement towns in America, GOBankingRates looked at all U.S. cities with a population over 15,000 and a 65-plus population of over 25%. With these 131 cities isolated, GOBankingRates found each city’s median household income to determine the 20 “richest.”
Here’s a look at the richest retirement towns in America.
Key Findings
- California is home to the most rich retirement towns. Five ranked cities are in the Golden State: Rancho Palos Verdes, Laguna Beach, Walnut Creek, Cerritos and Novato.
- Florida has the second-most rich retirement towns, with four cities listed: Lakewood Ranch, Palm Valley, Naples and Palm City.
- Naples, Florida, has the largest percentage of 65+ residents of any area on this list. Fifty-five percent of the population is age 65 or older.
- The median income in the richest retirement town in America is $166,747. The top spot belongs to Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Richest Retirement Towns in America for 2024
Here’s a look at the top 10 richest retirement towns in America.
1. Rancho Palos Verdes, California
With a median household income of $166,747, Rancho Palos Verdes takes the top spot. Residents ages 65-plus make up 26.2% of the total population of 41,805. Just under 11,000 seniors live here — the sixth-highest amount of any area in the overall ranking.
2. Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park has a population of 30,209 and a median household income of $159,567. The 65-plus population accounts for 25.3% of the area’s residents.
3. Bainbridge Island, Washington
Just over 27% of the population is age 65 and above on Bainbridge Island. The total population is 24,681 and the median household income is $151,290.
4. East Honolulu, Hawaii
Wealthy retirees who desire the aloha way of life flock to East Honolulu. Here, the median household income is $151,224 and residents age 65-plus make up 27.4% of the nearly 50,000 residents in the area. With 13,577 residents ages 65 and older, East Honolulu has the second-highest number of senior residents of any area in this ranking.
5. Melville, New York
This Long Island hamlet has a median household income of $146,302. The total population is 18,526, with the population of residents 65 and over comprising 27.8%. It is the smallest area population-wise in the overall ranking.
6. Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach has a total population of 22,943, with 28.2% of its residents age 65-plus. The median household income here is $141,875.
7. Paramus, New Jersey
The median income in Paramus is $136,824. The area has a population of 26,582, and residents age 65 and older account for 25.7% of the total population.
8. Naples, Florida
Over half of the population in Naples (54.6%) is age 65-plus. It has the highest senior population by percentage of all the areas included in this ranking. The median income here is $135,657. With a total population of 19,315, Naples is the fourth-smallest area population-wise in the overall ranking.
9. Walnut Creek, California
The median household income in Walnut Creek is $129,971. The largest area on this list, the California city has a population of 69,809 — 29.3% of the population is age 65 or older. With 20,444 senior residents, it has the highest number of 65-plus residents of any place on this ranking.
10. Cerritos, California
Rounding out the top 10 is Cerritos, which has a median household income of $124,460. Residents ages 65 and above account for 25.5% of the total population, which is just over 49,000 residents. With 12,508 residents ages 65 and above, Cerritos has the fourth-most senior residents of any place on this list.
More From GOBankingRates
Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates looked at all U.S. cities with a population over 15,000 and a 65+ population over 25%. With these 131 cities isolated, GOBankingRates then found each city’s median household income and found the 30 “richest”. All data was found within the 2022 American Community Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. All data ws collected and is up-to-date as of Feb. 20, 2024.