With inflation pushing living costs higher than expected, many American retirees are realizing they might need more money to retire comfortably. How has this impacted where people decided to retire?
Utilizing data from U.S. Census Bureau's current population survey and annual social/economic supplements,[1] HireAHelper has released its third annual retiree migration study, which looks at the top destinations where American retirees moved in the past year and offers other interesting observations about retiree migration in 2022.
In last year’s study of retirement moves, the COVID-19 pandemic was very much the central theme in many people’s moves. Yet, while the effects of the pandemic are still being felt across the country, the study found that this year’s driving narrative has been inflation—with the cost of living, savings and home prices all "touchstones" of the retirement equation. It found, among other things, that 36% of retirees reported their living costs as higher than expected, while 56% expected to continue working after they retire.
After a significant dip in 2021, the number of Americans who moved to retire this year has gone up to reach over 234,000. While the level is still down from the pre-pandemic levels, it’s 4% greater than the number of people who moved to retire last year, the study notes.
Destination Moves
So where are retirees moving? After coming in second in the organization’s 2020 and 2021 retirement move study, Florida is once again the top destination for out-of-state retirement moves. The Sunshine State in 2022 attracted nearly 16% of all retirees choosing to retire outside their state.
North Carolina takes the second spot, with almost 1 in 10 (9.6%) retirement moves crossing state lines going to this state. A new entrant on this year’s top 10 is the state of Washington. Drawing about 5% of out-of-state retirees, Washington state jumped to the seventh spot of this year’s ranking, the study found.
And while the top destination may be Florida, Oregon was the state retirees were most likely to leave. As one of the most expensive states in the country, Oregon saw as many as 10% of people moving to retire leaving the state.
Maryland placed second in states retirees were most likely to leave, with 7% of local retirement moves heading elsewhere. Idaho, which often sees the greatest net gains in HireAHelper’s annual reports, had 3.4% of all local retirees leave the state when moving for retirement.
Metro Moves
Compared to last year, Americans moving in retirement in 2022 tend to prefer staying in urbanized areas slightly more, according to the data.
The key beneficiary of retirees settling in metropolitan areas was Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL, which attracted 9.2% of all retirement moves in 2022—more than any other metropolitan area. Moreover, having once been named the best place for early retirement, this area seems to live up to that reputation, as 37% of its newcomer retirees were between the ages of 55 and 64.
In second place, the greater Columbus, OH area drew slightly under 6% of all retirees looking for a new place to live. The Ohio metro area ranking so highly this year may be due in part to the cost of living being one of the priorities for retirees planning their moves in 2022, the study observes.
Elsewhere, the study found that there are two metro areas located in Tennessee—Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN (5.3%) and Knoxville, TN (3.2%)—which combined attracted 8% of retirees who chose to move this year.
Why Are They Moving?
Inflation and the associated rise in the cost of living are likely contributing to why over 12% of American retirees who moved in 2022 said they did so to find cheaper housing. Housing was second only to “other family reasons” (e.g., “being close to family”). In fact, cost-conscious retirement moves are at their highest level since 2014, the study notes.
Accordingly, retirement moves for “new and better housing” have fallen sharply—upscaling now makes up only 10% of all stated reasons for a retirement move, down from 18% as early as 2019.
“These overall findings suggest that retirees are more sensitive to inflation than anticipated by many and, while home prices have begun to fall, they are still significantly higher than they were this time last year,” HireAHelper observes.
And like last year, this year’s study found that 86% of Americans moving in retirement were white, while just 14% were retirees of color. The study also found that retirees of color were more than twice as likely to move in search of cheaper housing (18%) than their white counterparts (8%).
Married people accounted for 55% of all retirees relocating in 2022, with the remaining 45% being single, including those widowed, divorced, as well as those who never married.
Finally, while almost three-quarters (74%) of those moving in retirement in 2022 were over 65, the remaining 26% were early retirees in 2022.
[1] Unless otherwise stated, all the data behind the charts in the study were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and its Annual Social and Economic Supplements for 2022. To calculate the most moved-in and moved-out states and cities, the organization took the percentage of all retirees in 2021 who moved or left a state or city. “Early retirees” was defined as any retiree aged younger than 65 years old.
