The topline takeaway is that warmer climates continue to rule. Cities in Florida, as well as the Phoenix suburbs, remain prime relocation destinations for the cohort, according to Jaclyn DeJohn, SmartAsset’s director of economic analysis and a certified financial planner who authored the column.
Palm Coast, Florida, had the highest rate of baby boomers moving in over the course of 2023 at 3.69% of the total population. Similarly, the Phoenix suburbs of Scottsdale, Surprise and Goodyear had the third, fourth and fifth highest rates, respectively.
Interestingly, the San Jose suburb of Sunnyvale, California, ranked 36th overall in the baby boomer transplant rate. While this figure might not seem remarkable, another detail — where they came from — might be.
Boomer transplants accounted for 2.12% of the population in Sunnyvale in 2023. And of these 3,168 new residents, more than half (1,613) came from outside the U.S.
Baby boomers also make up at least 25% of the population in 18 cities, many of which are located in boomer strongholds in California and Florida. But there is an outlier in the form of Springfield, Illinois, where the 25.49% composition of baby boomer residents outpaces sunny Huntington Beach, California (25.3%).
Cost of living is a big part of the conversation for baby boomers. This is why other locations beyond the usual suspects start to enter the conversation more fully, DeJohn wrote.
“Of the top 20 cities where baby boomers are flocking, Las Cruces, New Mexico has the lowest median monthly housing costs at $960,” the column reads. It was followed by Lakeland, Florida, with median housing costs of $1,205 per month.
Among the 20 cities with the largest baby boomer populations, the lowest housing costs are in Topeka, Kansas ($924 per month), and Springfield, Illinois ($940 per month).
For baby boomers who are planning to relocate, the reverse mortgage industry has been trumpeting the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase (H4P) program as an avenue for financing these types of moves.
While there are fervent believers in H4P, it has yet to hit its stride even within the reverse mortgage industry. But some are hoping to change that in the years ahead.
First Time Home Buyer FAQs - Via HousingWire.com
