Deciding where you want to spend your retirement depends on a variety of personal factors, like how much you can afford to pay for housing and the type of activities you want to do in your downtime. A recent report helps provide some insight for folks who might like to retire in Texas.
Publications like WalletHub seek to make this selection process a little easier by analyzing data to determine the best places for people to settle down and enjoy their retirement. At the end of August, a team of WalletHub analysts did just that by releasing a “Best & Worst Places to Retire (2026)” list.
To create their ranking, the analysts looked into a variety of topics, like tax laws, the cost of living, opportunities for activities, quality of healthcare, and more. In doing so, they were able to figure out where retirees were going to get the most bang for their buck while also having direct access to the care and level of community involvement they were seeking. In Texas, only one city ended up making it into WalletHub’s Top 25, though, and that city was Austin.
According to WalletHub’s reporting, Austin is the best city in Texas and No. 23 in the country overall for retirement. It received this ranking because it was favored highly for its affordability and access to a variety of fulfilling activities.
Other options for those who don’t want to retire in Texas
Looking more broadly at the overall list, Chip Lupo, one of the publication’s contributing analysts, said, “The best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so. In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees.”
Each location was scored out of 100 points. With this in mind, the Top 10 ended up being:
- Orlando, Florida with 63.38 points
- Miami, Florida with 59.4 points
- Tampa, Florida with 59.29 points
- Scottsdale, Arizona with 58.87 points
- Casper, Wyoming with 58.79 points
- Atlanta, Georgia with 58.73 points
- Minneapolis, Minnesota with 57.92 points
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida with 57.92 points
- Charleston, South Carolina with 57.54 points
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with 56.58 points
Retirement Living named a different Texas city as the No. 1 place for retirees
In January 2026, another publication, Retirement Living, came to a different conclusion about the best place for retirees in Texas. In its report, Retirement Living wrote that Wichita Falls was the No. 1 location due to its overall affordability. Average rent prices in the city cost around $1,185, and the cost-burden for seniors is also significantly lower than it is in other areas of the Lone Star State. It’s only about 16.3% in Wichita Falls but it’s 19% almost everywhere else.
However, Retirement Living did give a nod to Georgetown, a North Austin suburb, for being a particularly strong place to retire to as well. Georgetown received high marks for its safety levels (No. 2 overall) as well as its livability and access to healthcare. On that list, Austin ended up coming in at No. 24 of the 31 ranked cities.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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