US News 2025 best places to retire: Where does Albany rank?

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- U.S. News World & Report released its 2025 Best Places to Retire Rankings. The publication looked at the country’s top 150 cities based on how well they meet Americans’ expectations for retirement.

The criteria evaluated included overall happiness, affordability, health care, desirability, retiree taxes, and job market. The full methodology for the report can be found on the U.S. News & World Report website.

“The 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings reflect top cities across the country that best meet retiree needs and desires,” says Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News. “What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar, but is also a place for enjoyment. This is why the Midwest and South dominate the top 25.”

Overall, Florida dominated the top 10 with Naples, Sarasota, and Jacksonville sitting at numbers one, four, and seven respectively. They all had an overall score of 6.8 or higher.

In New York, Albany placed 98th best place to retire. The city had previously placed 47th out of 150 in the 2024 issue of this report.

The rankings were weighted based on a public survey of people who are at or approaching retirement age along with data sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings. The full 2025 Best Places to Retire rankings can be found on the U.S. News website.