Lexington named among top 25 best places to retire in US by Forbes. Here’s why
Lexington was named among the top 25 best places to retire in the U.S. in 2026 in a May 8 Forbes report, and it was the only Kentucky city to make the cut.
Forbes’ report, “Best Places To Retire In 2026: Green Valley, Arizona And Other Surprisingly Affordable Spots,” listed cities alphabetically rather than by a numerical ranking. To compile the analysis, Forbes compared nearly 1,000 U.S. locations and identified those with a “high quality of life at a comparatively affordable price.”
The top 25 best places to retire performed well in cost-of-living comparisons as well as quality-of-life measures, such as crime rates, healthcare availability, air quality, natural hazard and climate change risk and walkability or bicycling accessibility.
“Lexington residents know this is one of the best places in the nation to raise a child, live, visit, work, eat, locate a business, and, as ranked by Forbes, to retire,” Mayor Linda Gorton said in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader. “Retirees are attracted by our relatively low cost of living, and our high quality of life. We are home to excellent healthcare facilities, and strong senior services, including a new senior center opening later this year. I’m so proud – but not at all surprised – by the top rankings Lexington receives.”
Some of the other cities to make Forbes’ list for best place to retire included Athens, Ga., Greenville, S.C., Raleigh, N.C., Savannah, Ga. and Harrisonburg, Va.
What made Lexington stand out as a good place to retire?
Forbes described Lexington as a “Lush, horsey college town” and found it performed well in several areas, including housing costs, ratio of primary care physicians per capita, air quality, low “serious crime” rates and a lowered income tax rate.
Lexington’s median home price is $329,000, according to Forbes, landing 20% below the national median. Real estate company Redfin reports Lexington’s median home sale price is higher at $348,000 in March 2026, up 7.1% from the previous year.
Forbes listed Lexington’s “con” as a lack of walkability. Walk Score, a software company owned by Redfin, evaluates U.S. cities for their walkability, bikeability and transit availability and found Lexington-Fayette has a “Walk Score” of 34 out of 100, making it a car-dependent city.
Walk Score reports Lexington’s most walkable neighborhoods are Historic South Hill, Columbia Heights and Ashland Park.
Although Lexington performed well for cost of living, at 9% below the national average, it’s unaffordable for those making the minimum wage. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator reports a single Lexington-Fayette resident without children needs to earn $20.45 per hour, working full-time, to afford basic necessities.
The commonwealth’s minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum, $7.25, despite efforts by some lawmakers to increase it.
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