Big City Amenities With Small-Town Affordability

Many retirees think they need to choose between small-town charm and big-city resources, but some cities have the best of both worlds. In this article, we look at towns with populations over 100,000 offering retirees the best combination of affordability, culture, and robust health care access. 

This list is part of a bigger project Investopedia undertook with Travel + Leisure for to identify the top 50 best places to retire in the U.S. We gathered and analyzed data on the cost of living across counties in the U.S., as well as access to travel, health care, and arts and entertainment. Our four cities below show various enjoyable ways retirement can take shape in larger towns while maintaining charm and affordability over major metro cities. 

1. Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is a medium-sized city with over 263,000 residents, but it still maintains an award-winning parks system. Active retirees will find plenty of natural spaces to explore. Together, the parks in Lucas County—Toledo’s county—cover over 12,000 acres of protected land and 200 miles of trails. 

There’s also plenty to do at the parks when the grandkids visit. The county claims it has the country’s only public treehouse village, and many kids find hours of fun at the mountain bike skills course—both of which are only about a 30-minute drive from Toledo’s center. There’s a metropark within 5 miles of every Lucas County resident, so if you live here, your nearest park may be just a short drive from home.

To round out the outdoor fun, retirees who enjoy boating or fishing will appreciate Toledo’s proximity to Lake Erie, where you can swim and fish for yellow perch, bass, and steelhead trout.  

But Toledo isn’t just about green space. It’s also about historic charm. Toledo’s Old West End neighborhood boasts one of the most extensive collections of Victorian, Edwardian, and Arts and Crafts homes in the U.S. You’ll find them on tree-lined streets in the Old Orchard neighborhood.  

Toledo’s cost of living remains manageable, even with all its amenities. Lucas County has a lower cost of living than any other county in this article. Its median home value is the lowest at $155,200, and median monthly housing costs are $953. The county’s monthly food costs and taxes are also the lowest, at $600 and $547, respectively. Moreover, there are no state taxes on Social Security benefits in Ohio.

The county also has dozens of hospitals and medical facilities, offering convenient access to health care. 

If you’ve always wanted to retire in a big city but worried your retirement dollars wouldn’t stretch far enough, Toledo may strike the balance of cost and big-city living you’re after. 

2. Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is called the “City of Firsts,” thanks to it being the birthplace of basketball, the armory, and the first American automobile. It was also the birthplace and home of Theodor Geisel, better known as “Dr. Seuss.” Today, the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden honors his legacy with bronze sculptures of beloved characters from his book collection.

The Springfield Museum Quadrangle, a section of town with other museums and cultural institutions, adds to the city’s rich cultural appeal for its more than 154,000 residents.

Retirees who like to travel will appreciate Springfield’s proximity to major cities and international airports. Coined the “Western Gate to New England,” Springfield is a 30-minute car ride from Hartford, Connecticut. Boston is 90 minutes, and New York City is two and a half hours by car. New England’s second-largest airport, Bradley International, is 16 miles from the county center. 

Unfortunately, Springfield’s convenient location comes at a price.  Hampden County, in which Springfield resides, has the highest cost of living of all the counties on this list. This includes considerable median home values ($276,300) and high median monthly housing costs ($1,309), food costs ($696), and taxes ($767). For these reasons, Hampden County ranks among the top three most expensive of our 50 best places to retire. 

That said, Massachusetts doesn’t tax Social Security benefits, making living costs a bit more manageable for retirees. Springfield’s cost of living also pales compared to other big cities like San Francisco and New York. 

3. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Forget Florida. If you’re looking for sunny skies and mild winters without extreme heat and humidity, consider Albuquerque. Sitting at a mile above sea level, its high-desert climate is mild and dry, providing an average of 310 days of sunshine at an agreeable 44% average humidity. The city’s average annual rainfall is just 9 inches. 

Residents enjoy four distinct seasons, but Albuquerque maintains comfortable weather year-round, assuming you can handle dry, mid-90-degree highs during summer. The city’s top-ranked golf courses are open throughout the year, and you’ll regularly find many seniors out on the green practicing their swing—even in December.

Albuquerque’s county, Bernalillo County, boasts hundreds of health care establishments. This makes sense, given that Bernalillo County is the most populous county of all those we ranked. Over 674,000 people live in its borders, with approximately 83% residing in Albuquerque. 

Retirees with a goal of aging in place will appreciate the options to stay active within the city’s Paseo del Bosque (“Forest Walk”) Trail. The 16-mile trail follows the Rio Grande through Albuquerque’s riverside forest, offering a scenic path for walkers, cyclists, and even horseback riders. 

If you get bored on the trails, you can always see what’s happening in the city’s art scene, since the county has over 300 arts and entertainment establishments. 

For travel, residents can access the newly renovated Albuquerque International Sunport Airport, located just four miles from the county center. Having an airport in town is ideal if you frequently travel or welcome out-of-state or overseas friends and family. 

4. Pueblo, Colorado

As the smallest of the cities on this list, Pueblo enjoys a population of about 110,000. Pueblo has more of a small-town feel stemming from community-based events like the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival. The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk also lends itself to a slower pace of life. 

Contributing to the rural vibes is the distance to the closest international airport. Denver International Airport is 120 miles from the county center. 

Besides local festivities, Pueblo provides retirees with a variety of activities to keep them busy, including a long golf season, fly fishing at the Arkansas River, nature trails, historic districts, and ski slopes two and a half hours away. Thanks to its milder average temperatures and 300 annual days of sunshine, retirees can enjoy many of the city’s activities year-round. FEMA also labels Pueblo as having a relatively low climate risk. 

Retirees looking to move within Pueblo County will find median home values of $271,800 and monthly housing costs are $1,083. Average monthly tax costs of $612.

These costs of living are high when compared to smaller towns we ranked, but are in line with the larger cities mentioned in this article.. 

The Bottom Line

Our four towns prove that retirement in a city of 100,000 or more people can still feel approachable—offering culture, health care, and personality without the sprawl, costs, and noise of the most prominent cities. Toledo’s green spaces, Springfield’s connectivity, Albuquerque’s recreational opportunities, and Pueblo’s community events show retirees can find large-town living with small-town affordability.