25 Best Florida Cities To Retire Comfortably in 2026

Florida is well-known as an American retirement haven, thanks to financial breaks (no retirement income taxation or state sales tax), an already large population of retirees and retirement-friendly culture, warm weather and beautiful locales. Despite those benefits, there are still a number of extremely expensive cities in The Sunshine State, places where the high cost of living can drain a retirement budget far too quickly.

With that in mind, GOBankingRates turned to U.S. News & World Report’s recent list of the 250 best American cities to retire in 2026, and sourced from it the top 25 Florida locations. Additionally, we included each city’s ranking in the U.S. overall (again, per U.S. News & World Report), as well as their median monthly rent. Finally, each city’s cost of living index score was pulled from Best Places. On the cost of living index, the national average is 100; any city with a score under that has below-average cost of living, and any city with a score higher than 100 has above-average cost of living.

Armed with this information, prospective retirees looking to live the (affordable) good life in Florida for their golden years now have a listing of best possible cities to do so — locations with great weather, gorgeous beaches and affordable cost of living.

• U.S. rank: 301
• Cost-of-living index: 87.8
• Median monthly rent: $863

• U.S. rank: 272
• Cost-of-living index: 95.9
• Median monthly rent: $1,127

• U.S. rank: 489
• Cost-of-living index: 98.7
• Median monthly rent: $1,467

• U.S. rank: 68
• Cost-of-living index: 102.8
• Median monthly rent: $1,715

• U.S. rank: 179
• Cost-of-living index: 113
• Median monthly rent: $1,873

• U.S. rank: 166
• Cost-of-living index: 89
• Median monthly rent: $1,188

• U.S. rank: 296
• Cost-of-living index: 104.2
• Median monthly rent: $1,688

• U.S. rank: 203
• Cost-of-living index: 104.2
• Median monthly rent: $1,722

• U.S. rank: 409
• Cost-of-living index: 93.7
• Median monthly rent: $1,131

• U.S. rank: 278
• Cost-of-living index: 95.7
• Median monthly rent: $1,351

• U.S. rank: 216
• Cost-of-living index: 102.8
• Median monthly rent: $1,582

• U.S. rank: 253
• Cost-of-living index: 102.8
• Median monthly rent: $1,580

• U.S. rank: 271
• Cost-of-living index: 93.7
• Median monthly rent: $1,156

• U.S. rank: 364
• Cost-of-living rank: 98
• Median monthly rent: $1,070

• U.S. rank: 394
• Cost-of-living rank: 95.6
• Median monthly rent: $1,471

• U.S. rank: 383
• Cost-of-living rank: 100.9
• Median monthly rent: $1,168

• U.S. rank: 241
• Cost-of-living rank: 100.7
• Median monthly rent: $1,674

• U.S. rank: 251
• Cost-of-living rank: 104.2
• Median monthly rent: $1,654

• U.S. rank: 326
• Cost-of-living rank: 102.8
• Median monthly rent: $1,634

• U.S. rank: 74
• Cost-of-living rank: 110.5
• Median monthly rent: $2,373

• U.S. rank: 198
• Cost-of-living rank: 104.2
• Median monthly rent: $1,756

• U.S. rank: 152
• Cost-of-living rank: 114.1
• Median monthly rent: $2,102

• U.S. rank: 416
• Cost-of-living rank: 95.6
• Median monthly rent: $1,427

• U.S. rank: 162
• Cost-of-living rank: 94.9
• Median monthly rent: $1,309

• U.S. rank: 265
• Cost-of-living rank: 104.2
• Median monthly rent: $1,627

Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.