Sarasota best retirement haven in Florida

Sarasota overshadows every other major Florida destination as a retirement haven. That No. 1 ranking comes from the personal finance website WalletHub in a report issued Wednesday.

The company’s data crunchers compared more than 100 of Florida’s largest cities across 28 key indicators of retiree-friendliness. The data set ranged from cost of living to health care facilities per capita to number of attractions.

READ MORE: See the latest Sarasota-Manatee real estate news

Bradenton scored well, too, landing in seventh place. Other regional cities and their rankings: Bonita Springs, 16th; Cape Coral, 21st; North Port, 29th; and Port Charlotte, 51st.

“Florida crosses off many items on a retiree’s wish list,” the report states, “starting with cheap living costs, one of the biggest considerations for older Americans who’ve stopped working and rely on a smaller income.”

The findings list the five best and worst places for some of the indicators. Sarasota tied for first place in two per capita indicators: most health care facilities and most fishing facilities.

In other categories, Sarasota also stood atop all others for activities, but only 11th for quality of life. Bradenton placed second in the health care category, 14th in quality of life and 20th in activities.

“Beyond practical qualities, this Southern charmer is teeming with excitement,” WalletHub concludes. “Here, retirees are likely to avoid boredom and burnout — common problems among this group — with a wide variety of choices for indoor and outdoor activities, coupled with volunteer opportunities and part- or full-time jobs. Throw in the wraparound coastline and foodie-worthy cuisine, and there will be nothing left to crave.

“Best of all, no one pays income tax, so every dollar goes a long way.”

Early this year, a website dedicated to helping baby boomers find the best places to live after they retire ranked Sarasota No. 2 out of the top 10 in the U.S. The 10 “Best of the Best” Places to Retire for 2019 from Topretirements.com said that only Asheville, North Carolina, was preferable to Sarasota.

The only other Florida city on the list was St. Petersburg.

Top 10 Florida Cities for Retirees

1. Sarasota

2. Tampa

3. Miami

4. Boca Raton

5. Key West

6. Orlando

7. Bradenton

8. Fort Myers

9. West Palm Beach

10. Clearwater

Source: WalletHub