When it comes to places to put your feet up after decades of working, raising a family and surviving the various ups and downs of life, Florida remains a popular destination for retirement living.<\/p>\n
Here in SW Florida, Cape Coral has been recognized by personal finance company WalletHub as a “best place to retire”, coming in at No. 20 in the annual rankings.<\/p>\n
To create its rankings, WalletHub evaluated 182 cities<\/a>, including the 150 most populated cities in the United States, along with two of the most populated in each state.<\/p>\n The company ranked four characteristics \u2013 affordability, activities, quality of life and available healthcare.<\/p>\n WalletHub ranked the best and worst cities for retirement<\/a> by tracking \u201c45 key metrics,\u201d according to the September study<\/a>, including the cost of living, health infrastructure and retired \u201ctaxpayer friendliness.\u201d<\/p>\n Cape Coral is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. with its population approaching 240,000.<\/p>\n Cape Coral history: How were Cape Coral’s canals dug? 5 things to know<\/a><\/p>\n Cape Coral scored a 54.32 overall. It had an affordability rank of 24, an activities rank of 72, a quality of life rank of 22 and a healthcare rank of 111.<\/p>\n Three of the five cities WalletHub considers the top spots for retirees were in Florida \u2013 Orlando at No. 1, Miami at No. 4 and Tampa at No. 5, with Scottsdale, Arizona, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, taking second and third place, respectively. Fort Lauderdale also ranked relatively highly at No. 7.<\/p>\n What they are saying: Best cities for retirement<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to choose wisely when picking where to retire, as many retirees are on a fixed income,\u201d said Chip Lupo, an analyst with WalletHub<\/a>. \u201cAs a result, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: WalletHub<\/a><\/p>\n See all Florida cities making list of best places to retire<\/p>\n No. 1: Orlando<\/p>\n No. 4: Miami<\/p>\n No. 5: Tampa<\/p>\n No. 7: Fort Lauderdale<\/p>\n No. 12: St. Petersburg<\/p>\n No. 20: Cape Coral<\/p>\n No. 30: Pembroke Pines<\/p>\n No. 40: Hialeah<\/p>\n No. 45: Jacksonville<\/p>\n No. 55: Tallahassee<\/p>\n No. 107:\u00a0Port St. Lucie<\/p>\n Are any Florida cities among worst places to retire?<\/p>\n According to WalletHub, no Florida city was among the bottom cities to retire, which was dominated by cities in California. The\u00a0worst cities<\/a>\u00a0among those ranked were:<\/p>\n No. 182: San Bernardino, California<\/p>\n No. 181: Stockton, California<\/p>\n No. 180: Rancho Cucamonga, California<\/p>\n No. 179: Bakersfield, California<\/p>\n No. 178: Newark, New Jersey<\/p>\n No. 177: Fresno, California<\/p>\n No. 176: Fontana, California<\/p>\n No. 175: Pearl City, Hawaii<\/p>\n WalletHub’s Top 10 cities to retire toTrying to decide where to retire? ‘Choose wisely’<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to choose wisely when picking where to retire, as many retirees are on a fixed income,” Lupo said.<\/p>\n “As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that\u00a0minimize taxes and expenses<\/a>, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to\u00a0continue paid work for extra income,<\/a>\u00a0if they choose to do so.<\/p>\n “In addition, the top cities provide\u00a0high-quality health care<\/a>\u00a0and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees.”<\/p>\n Sarah Perkel, a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Connect team, and Cheryl McCloud, a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team, contributed to this story.<\/p>\n You can get all of Florida\u2019s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY<\/a>.<\/p>\n