After years spent enduring high taxes and four-hour-long round-trip commutes to his job in Los Angeles as an insurance adjuster for large commercial claims, Andy Costa wanted to escape in retirement from the costs and hectic pace of Southern California. And like many folks contemplating retirement, Andy and his wife, Doreen, a retired middle school teacher, also wanted to be near family. So last year, the Costas, both now 62, sold their home in Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County and bought one on the outskirts of Greenville, South Carolina, that cost hundreds of thousands less and was 90% larger—big enough, in fact, that their daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids, age 4 and 2, moved in with them. How is intergenerational living going in this fast-growing area at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains? “Terrific,” Andrew says. “And there’s no traffic.”

Greenville is one of the 25 picks on Forbes’ Best Places To Retire In 2025 list, which highlights locales offering a high quality of life in the U.S. at a comparatively affordable price. We compared more than 950 sites, with housing costs being a major factor. Since 2020, the median price of single-family homes nationwide has jumped 50% to $404,000, according to the National Association of Realtors. Greenville, for its part, has a median home price of just $317,000, 22% below the national median, contributing to an overall cost of living that’s 9% below average.

By design, 22 of the 25 places on our new list have median home prices at or below the national median and four—Iowa City, Iowa; Lincoln, Nebraska; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and San Antonio, Texas—are under $300,000. Only three honorees have a median home price above the national one, with the most expensive being Raleigh, North Carolina, at $440,000, 9% above the national median. The next highest, college town and state capital Madison, Wisconsin, weighs in at $408,00, just 1% above the national median, while new-to-the-list Pasco, Washington, 225 miles southwest of Seattle, is $406,000. The median price in The Villages, our sole Florida pick, sits at $404,000, the national median. (You can read about the intriguing way one couple settled on The Villages here.)

Overall, our new list features choices in 19 states and all four domestic time zones, with a roughly even split between colder and warmer climates. Chilly Fargo, North Dakota, is the only city appearing for all 15 years we’re compiled this list. Pittsburgh, which also has frosty winters, is another of our perennial favorites—on the list for 13 of 15 years and for the eighth year in a row, despite its above-average crime rate. Besides basic costs, our selection process weighs such metrics as state taxes, prospects for the local economy, air quality, serious crime and the availability of primary care doctors, as well as whether a place encourages an active lifestyle by making biking or walking convenient. As we have since 2020, we screen for natural hazard and climate change risk, ruling out places with the very highest danger, as measured by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Risk Index, which evaluates 18 natural hazards ranging from hurricanes and tornadoes to heat waves and extreme cold.

Downtown Greenville is built along the banks of the Reedy River with a 32-acre park overlooking a natural waterfall. Between the Reedy and a network of creeks, parts of the area are prone to floods, particularly when events like last year’s Hurricane Helene bring heavy rain. But the city is still 200 miles inland from the coast and has a favorable relatively moderate risk rating from FEMA.

The Costas’ method for picking a retirement spot was distinctly personal. In 2023, the whole family went to a wedding in Greenville and their daughter and son-in-law fell in love with it. While the city’s population is just 75,000, it’s part of a growing metropolitan area of 900,000, which offers urban amenities like restaurants and live performances, plus lots of parks and paths, as well as nearby mountain trails and kayaking. The young couple, who were living in a tiny condo they owned in Southern California and had work-from-home jobs, were frustrated that they’d never be able to afford a larger space in California and figured they could in Greenville. But before they could move, Andy and Doreen decided they’d retire to Greenville themselves and tap their considerable Baby Boomer housing wealth for a family-style........

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