As Baby Boomers continue to retire in droves, they are likely to consider changing their living arrangements to accommodate their new lifestyles. From downsizing to leaving city centers, they often seek a familiar community, warm weather, and other amenities, or simply just look for the best bang for their buck. 

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To determine where baby boomers are moving to, SmartAsset SmartAsset ranked 267 of the largest U.S. cities based on the percentage of the population represented by incoming baby boomers. The study found that Scottsdale, Surprise and Goodyear ranked among the top 10 places where Baby Boomers are moving to. 

Key Findings

  • Florida cities and Phoenix suburbs are preferred among baby boomers who are relocating. Palm Coast had the highest rate of baby boomers moving in at 3.69% of the total population. Other Floridian cities among the top 10 include Cape Coral (3.12%), Pompano Beach (3.07%), Clearwater (3.00%), Fort Lauderdale (2.75%), Gainesville (2.75%) and Palm Bay (2.70%). Similarly, Phoenix, AZ suburbs took the third, fourth and fifth rankings, including Scottsdale (3.11%), Surprise (3.10%), and Goodyear (23.09%).
  • This California city had the highest rate of baby boomers moving in from abroad. A neighborhood of the San Jose metro area, Sunnyvale ranked 36th overall with 2.12% of the population coming in as new boomer transplants. Of these new 3,168 resident baby boomers, 1,613 of them – more than half – came from another abroad.
  • More than 25% of the population are baby boomers in 18 cities. While most of the top 10 destination cities for baby boomers also have the highest concentrations of baby boomers overall, other cities with particularly high boomer populations include Pembroke Pines, FL (29.18%); Thousand Oaks, CA (28.67%); Port St. Lucie, FL (26.76%); St. Petersburg, FL (26.55%); Hialeah, FL (26.15%); Garden Grove, CA (25.61%); Springfield, IL (25.49%); Huntington Beach, CA (25.30%); Spring Hill, FL (25.28%); Oceanside, CA (26.23%); and Vallejo, CA (25.08%).
  • These popular boomer destinations have the lowest housing costs. Of the top 20 cities where baby boomers are flocking, Las Cruces, NM has the lowest median monthly housing costs at $960. The second lowest housing cost of the top 20 is Lakeland, FL, with median housing costs of $1,205 per month. Of the top 20 cities with the highest baby boomer populations, the lowest housing costs are in Topeka, KS ($924 per month) and Springfield, IL ($940 per month).

You can find the full study here: https://smartasset.com/data-studies/where-boomers-moved-2024