This year’s list marked Sarasota’s return to the top five for the first time since 2021.
Sarasota has landed at No. 4 in U.S. News & World Report’s list of best places to retire. The annual list evaluates 150 cities nationwide based on six criteria—happiness, affordability, health care, desirability, retiree taxes and job market—aimed at capturing what retirees seek in their golden years. As part of the same report, Sarasota came in at No. 11 for the nation’s best places to live—although we’re guessing it may have been too late in the year for the report to make note of the effects of recent hurricanes and natural disasters, which devastated some local areas, especially the barrier islands.