Multiple Arizona cities chosen as top places to retire, Scottsdale ranks first

PHOENIX — A number of Arizona cities were picked as some of the best places in the country to retire in, including Scottsdale which took the top spot.

Mesa, Tempe, Tucson and Phoenix also ranked highly, coming at 11th, 29th, 52nd and 59th.

The list was made by Niche, a neighborhood ranking and review website. 

It explored cities around the country and ranked them based on criteria such as the number of retirees, weather, access to healthcare and entertainment.

Niche looked at data from the U.S. Census, FBI, CDC and other sources to create the list.

Scottsdale received an overall “A” grade in the Niche report card, with the lowest grade coming from the cost of living where the city received a “C-.” However, Scottsdale outperformed other cities in areas, such as health and fitness, public schools, nightlife, and weather.

It should come as no surprise that each Arizona city listed received an “A+” rating for weather.

A few other positive trends across the state showed that Arizona excelled in diversity, nightlife, outdoor activities and commute, where each city received “A” to high “B” rankings.

In the past, Arizona has received similar accolades. Multiple sites, including Bankrate and WalletHub, rank Arizona as one of the top 10 states to retire in.