2 MD Cities Among Best Places To Live, Retire In 2020: U.S. News

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore is among the best cities in the United States to retire in 2020, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. This year’s list evaluates 150 metropolitan areas in the United States.

Baltimore ranked 76th on the list of the best cities to retire and 117th among the best cities to live. Charm City was also in the top 10 in the publication's most dangerous places list.

To determine the best places to retire, U.S. News looked at measures including happiness, housing affordability, health care quality, taxes, desirability and job market ratings.

The organization used data from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as its Best Hospitals rankings.

These measures were also weighted by the results of a nationwide public survey of people nearing retirement age (ages 45–59) and those who are retirement age (60 or older) to find out what matters most when deciding where to retire.

This year's U.S. News list of the Best Places to Retire is dominated by Florida metro areas, largely due to affordable homes, low taxes and high ratings for happiness and desirability.

Increases in desirability and job market scores lifted Sarasota to No. 1 this year, overtaking Fort Myers, which fell to No. 2. Port. St. Lucie’s housing affordability score decreased slightly, but increases in desirability, job market and health care scores helped it jump two places to No. 3.

See the full list of Best Places To Retire for 2020 from U.S. News & World Report.

The only other city in Maryland that made the list was Salisbury, which was No. 26.

Despite its middle-of-the-pack No. 76 ranking by U.S. News, personal finance site WalletHub reported in 2019 that Baltimore was one of the worst cities for retirement, based on the site's 2019 survey that looked at health care, activities, affordability and quality of life.

2 Maryland Towns On Best Places To Live List

To determine the best places to live, researchers took into consideration the job market, housing affordability, quality of life, desirability and net migration ratings, among other factors.

Cities on the Best Places to Live list were also determined based on a public survey five months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of respondents weighed in on what qualities they consider important when choosing where they’re going to put down roots.

In addition to Baltimore at No. 117, Maryland was represented by Salisbury at No. 90.

Salisbury is described as a "melting pot of college students, retirees and families who might all be seen together enjoying a Saturday night at a microbrewery or watching a minor-league baseball game," according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Salisbury the 13th fastest-growing place for 2020–2021. "Despite its growth over the years, Salisbury is still a place where people will pull over to help a stranger broken down on the side of the road or rally for a community cause."

Baltimore was selected as one of the best places to live in part because it "has a small-town feel," according to U.S. News & World Report. "Locals like to say that you can't go anywhere in 'Smalltimore' without seeing someone you know."

Ambiance, dining and culture set Charm City apart too.

"Baltimore's elegant architecture, friendly people and lively pockets of nightlife and music make Charm City a pleasant and fun place to call home," according to U.S. News & World Report. "The metro area also boasts a restaurant scene that goes beyond the city's famous crab cakes, pit beef and Berger cookies."

See how Baltimore ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 in these areas, according to U.S. News:

• Desirability: 5.9
• Value: 6.6
• Job market: 7.4
• Quality of life: 5.3
• Net migration: 5.8

Boulder, Colorado, debuted on the Best Places to Live ranking at No. 1 this year, while Denver held at No. 2, and Austin, Texas, fell from the top spot to No. 3.

See the full list of Best Places To Live for 2020–2021.

The coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest may have had an impact on how people perceive some cities this year, researchers said. Desirability was the most significant factor in ranking decreases for hard-hit cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City and Washington, D.C.

In addition to being ranked among the best places to retire and live, Baltimore made the U.S. News list of most dangerous places. It ranked 7th, after San Juan, Puerto Rico; Jackson, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; Baton Rouge, La.; New Orleans; and Shreveport, La. Rounding out the top 10 after Baltimore at No. 7 are St. Louis, Mo.; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Birmingham, Ala.

More:

• Maryland's Best Hospitals: U.S. News Rankings For 2020–2021
• Baltimore Ranked Among Worst Cities To Retire: WalletHub
• Maryland's 200 Best Places To Live For 2020: Niche

— By Megan VerHelst and Elizabeth Janney