About & Editorial Standards
RetireCityIQ is a decision-support directory that helps people choose where to retire in the United States. We compare 1,600+ cities and all 50 states on affordability, healthcare access, state taxes, climate, and lifestyle — using public data and a fixed, published scoring model, with no paid placement.
Who we are
RetireCityIQ is published by the RetireCityIQ editorial team and is part of the Where55 network of retirement-focused research sites, alongside WhereAssistedLiving and RetireFree. Our mission is to make the financial and practical trade-offs of relocating in retirement transparent and comparable, so readers can shortlist places on evidence rather than marketing.
How we produce our rankings
Every city and state score is computed deterministically from public datasets using a weighted model — 30% Affordability, 25% Healthcare, 20% Taxes, 15% Climate, 10% Lifestyle. Metrics are normalized against national benchmarks before they are combined. Nothing is hand-picked, and no city can pay to rank higher. The full formula, normalization ranges, and per-metric data lineage are documented in our methodology.
Editorial articles (city guides, comparisons, and planning explainers) are written and reviewed by the RetireCityIQ team, grounded in the same underlying data, and carry a “last reviewed” date.
Our data sources
We rely on primary public sources and cite them on the relevant pages:
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities and U.S. Census Bureau — cost of living and housing
- CMS Hospital Compare and the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) — healthcare quality and access
- Tax Foundation and state revenue departments — retirement-income and property taxes
- NOAA climate normals and the FEMA National Risk Index — climate and disaster risk
- FBI Uniform Crime Reports and Walk Score — safety and walkability
Independence & corrections
Rankings are never influenced by advertisers or referral partners. Where we earn referral revenue (such as connecting readers with financial advisors), it does not affect how cities are scored or ordered.
Found a figure that looks wrong? Email corrections@retirecityiq.com with the page and the number. We verify against the cited public source and update the page, reflecting material corrections in its “last reviewed” date. This is general research, not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice — see our disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
Who publishes RetireCityIQ?
RetireCityIQ is published by the RetireCityIQ editorial team, part of the Where55 network of retirement-focused research sites (alongside Where55, WhereAssistedLiving, and RetireFree). Content is produced and reviewed by the team against the editorial standards described on this page; it is general research, not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice.
Does RetireCityIQ accept payment for rankings or placement?
No. City and state rankings are computed deterministically from public data using a fixed, published scoring model. No city, advisor, or advertiser can pay to change a ranking or to be featured. When we earn referral revenue (for example, connecting readers with financial advisors), it never affects how cities are scored or ordered.
How often is the data updated?
Underlying datasets are refreshed on the cadence of their public sources — typically annually for tax, cost-of-living, and climate normals, and more frequently for housing values. Each city page shows a per-metric "updated" date and a confidence badge, and every article carries a "last reviewed" date.
How do I report an error?
Email corrections@retirecityiq.com with the page and the figure in question. We verify against the cited public source and update the data or editorial text; material corrections are reflected in the page’s "last reviewed" date.