Sacramento named one of top 10 places to retire in CA. Who else made the list?
Ready for retirement? Sacramento is one of the top spots for retirees in California, according to U.S News & World Report.
The media company recently ranked the best places to retire in California — and the United States — based on affordable housing, jobs, access to quality health care and other factors.
California’s natural wonders and “diverse climate” make the state a natural draw for retirees, according to Jon Ekoniak, managing partner at Bordeaux Wealth Advisors in Menlo Park.
However, the Golden State is known for its high cost of living and aggressive tax rates, Ekoniak told U.S. News & World Report.
California is the second most expensive state for retirees in the United States based on annual spending, according to a 2025 study by personal finance website GoBankingRates.
In California, $1 million in retirement savings along with Social Security benefits would last about 16.2 years, the study found.
Here’s what makes Sacramento a good place to spend your retirement:
Why is Sacramento one of top places in California to retire?
Sacramento snagged third place on U.S. News & World Report’s list of the best California cities for retirees.
“California’s state capital city is the political center of the country’s most populous state and a hub for government jobs, lobbying and think tanks,” U.S. News & World Report said, noting the Sacramento area is also top-tier health care providers and high-quality colleges and universities including Sacramento State and UC Davis.
“Housing costs less in the Sacramento metro area than it does in coastal communities, but it’s still expensive when compared with the rest of the country,” the publication said.
Sacramento had a median monthly mortgage cost of $1,597 and a median monthly rent of $1,465, according to U.S. News & World Report.
As of Tuesday, June 17, the average Sacramento home was valued at $488,528, down 1.5% over the past year, according to real estate website Zillow.
As of July 2024, about 14% of Sacramento’s nearly 536,000 residents were 65 years old or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Where do Fresno and Modesto rank as retirement spots?
Sacramento wasn’t the only Central Valley city to snag a spot on U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 California cities for retirees.
Fresno landed in fourth place on the list.
“The city offers convenient access to Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, the Sierra National Forest and a variety of lakes,” U.S News & World Report said, making it an “ideal retirement spot to launch outdoor adventures.”
Fresno is “much more affordable than many other parts of the state,” U.S. News & World Report said, with median monthly rent of $1,098 and a median monthly mortgage rate of $1,199.
Modesto, meanwhile, was No. 7.
“Located in the Central Valley, Modesto is surrounded by rich farmland used to produce almonds, milk, cattle and a variety of other crops,” U.S. News & World Report said, calling the Stanislaus County city is “considerably more affordable than California’s larger metro areas on the coast.”
The median monthly rent in Modesto is $1,315, the publication said, and the city has a median monthly mortgage rate of $1,260.
Where are the best cities for retirees in California?
U.S. News & World Report ranked a total of 14 cities on its list of the top California spots for retirees.
San Diego was named the best place to retire in the Golden State due to its “year-round pleasant temperatures,” fun beach activities such as scuba diving snorkeling and top-tier health care options including Scripps La Jolla Hospitals and UC San Diego Health-La Jolla and Hillcrest Hospitals.
Los Angeles took second place thanks to its “consistently sunny days and Mediterranean climate,” US News & World Report said, and Sacramento was No. 3 due to its status as a “hub for government jobs, lobbying and think tanks.”
Here are the top 10 best cities to retire in California in 2025, according to U.S News and World Report:
How did US News and World Report come up with rankings?
To come up with its list of California’s best cities for retirees, U.S. News & World Report ranked the 150 largest cities in the United States based on six factors: affordability, happiness, desirability, retiree taxes, job market and health care quality.
The publication used data from sources including the FBI, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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