5 Best Arizona Cities To Retire Without a Car
Written by
Travis Woods
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Owning a car in retirement can add a number of charges to a retiree’s fixed budget. Specifically, the average retiree pays $3,989 annually for car insurance, repairs and maintenance, vehicle financing and gas. While $4,000 may not seem like much over the course of a year, across a 20-year retirement that’s approximately $100,000 in spending.
As such, a carless retirement can save you a great deal of money, but to do so would require living in a walkable city that supports carless citizens.
Recently, GOBankingRates held a study to find the 50 best places in America to retire without out a car. In order to craft that list, GOBankingRates found a number of cities in which at least 20% of the population was of retirement age. From that matrix of cities, GOBankingRates then found the locations that scored highly on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Walkability Index — cities with scores of 10.51 to 15.25 are of above-average walkability, and those with scores of 15.26 to 20 are the most walkable cities. GOBankingRates then broke the list down by region and even by state — including Arizona.
The Grand Canyon State is a hot retirement destination, thanks to its warm weather, no taxes on Social Security and gorgeous scenery. Knowing where to go carless in Arizona can lead to an easily affordable retirement.
Kingman
Kingman boasts a Walkability Index score of 14.3, meaning its walkability is very above-average. Further, its total cost of living annually is only $42,360.
Prescott
While Prescott’s cost of living is a bit higher than Kingman’s (it costs $65,939 annually to live and retire there), its Walkability Index score of 17.0 makes Prescott one of America’s most walkable cities.
Fountain Hills
A retirement in Fountain Hills comes with a Walkability Index of 15.8, making it one of Arizona’s most walkable cities, and a place where you could easily retire carless — offsetting the $74,940 annual cost of living.
Oro Valley
While Oro Valley only has a Walkability Index score of 11 (the lowest among these five cities, but still above-average), it also has a rather healthy annual cost of living at $58,876.
Cottonwood
Retired living in Cottonwood only costs $52,112 yearly, and it comes with a Walkability Index score of 11.2, making it a city of above-average walkability for your carless golden years.
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed retirement hotspots to find the best places to retire without a car. Using the U.S. Census 2024 one-year American Community Survey, the total population, population ages 65 and over, total households, median household income and mean household income were all sourced for this study. In order to qualify for this study, the city had to have a percentage of the population ages 65 and over or at least 20%. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and by using the national average expenditure costs for retired consumer units as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for retired consumer units, the average expenditure costs can be calculated for each location. Using the transportation cost-of-living index for each city as well as the national average costs for various transportation-related expenses, the average cost of those services can be calculated for each city, showcasing an example of the savings someone can expect by not owning and driving a vehicle. The average single-family home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index and by assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage can be calculated. Using the mortgage and expenditure costs, the total cost of living for necessities can be calculated. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes and used to determine the quality of life. The walkability index was sourced from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Walkability Index and used to determine the ability to live without driving a car. The livability was scored and weighted at 1.00, the walkability was scored and weighted at 1.00. The scores were summed and sorted to show the best places in America to retire without a car. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Oct. 20, 2025.
Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.
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