Huntsville rated US News No. 8 place to retire

WASHINGTON — Well, it’s another U.S. News and World Report Top 10 ranking for the Rocket City.

Last year, Huntsville was ranked the No. 2 Best Place to Live. This time, Huntsville comes in at No. 8 in the publication’s 2025 Best Places to Retire in the United States.

This year’s rankings evaluated 150 top U.S. cities based on how well they meet American retirees’ expectations, with measures including happiness, affordability, health care, desirability, retiree taxes and job market, the publication said in announcing the list today.

Huntsville’s scores were: Overall Score, 6.8; Housing Affordability, 8.5; and Health Care, 3.7.

U.S. News said retirees noted overall happiness of a place’s residents as the top consideration when determining a place to retire this year, helping Naples, Fla., secure the No. 1 rank. Naples also scored high in desirability, retiree taxes and job market.

“The 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings reflect top cities across the country that best meet retiree needs and desires,” says Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News. “What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar, but is also a place for enjoyment. This is why the Midwest and South dominate the top 25.”

This year, U.S. News adjusted its scoring to make happiness the most heavily weighted of the six factors in the 2025 Best Places to Retire methodology, which also includes indexes for affordability, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability and job market.

Additionally, to further localize metrics that have a direct impact on retirees, U.S. News said it transitioned from using Metro Statistical Area (MSA) data to city-based data. These changes resulted in top-10 appearances from Virginia Beach, Va. (No. 2), Boise, Idaho (No. 5), Raleigh, N.C. (No. 6), Jacksonville, Fla. (No. 7), HUNTSVILLE (No. 8), Charlotte, N.C. (No. 9) and Fort Wayne, Ind. (No. 10).

“U.S. News‘ rankings are consistently evolving to meet consumer needs,” Bradbury added. “This year’s shift from Metro Statistical Area data to city-based data enables the consumer to consider factors that will directly impact the livability and overall experiences associated with a city on a more local level.”

The six measures factored into this year’s rankings were weighted based on a public survey of individuals across the U.S. who are at or approaching retirement age (45 and older) to find out what matters most to people when they’re considering where to retire. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News‘ Best Hospitals rankings.

Best Places to Retire is part of U.S. News‘ expanding Real Estate section, which provides rankings, tools and advice to help individuals navigate the housing market, from finding the right neighborhood and home value estimates to working with an agent and buying and selling a home.

2025 U.S. News Best Places to Retire – Top 10

1. Naples, Fla.
2. Virginia Beach, Va.
3. New York City
4. Sarasota, Fla. 
5. Boise, Idaho
6. Raleigh, N.C.
7. Jacksonville, Fla.
8. HUNTSVILLE
9. Charlotte, N.C.
10. Fort Wayne, Ind.