San Luis Obispo County is now the second-best place in California to retire, moving up two spots from last year, according to new rankings.
In SmartAsset’s latest retirement calculator analysis, SLO County was named the second-best place in the state to live after retirement, surpassed only by Marin County, which continues to hold the top spot.
In 2023, SLO ranked 4th on the same list, behind Marin, Nevada and Tuolumne counties.
The analysis was conducted by taking into account factors such as tax burden, number of medical centers, leisure centers and retirement homes per 1,000 people and percentage of senior citizens in the population.
SLO County is one of the 10 best places in California to retire, according to the website
Although San Luis Obispo County’s tax burden is slightly higher than other counties, it performs well in terms of the number of senior living and medical care facilities per 1,000 residents.
About 20% of SLO County’s population is over 65, according to SmartAsset’s analysis—more than the state’s population of about 17.8%. This suggests the area is a popular place for older residents to build community life.
SmartAsset ranks San Luis Obispo County’s senior living inventory as high at 0.18 senior living units per 1,000 residents – significantly higher than the state’s rate of 0.10.
Counties with larger, more popular attractions, such as Marin, Ventura and Nevada, tended to rank higher in the number of recreation centers per 1,000 residents. San Luis Obispo has 0.52 recreation centers per 1,000 residents.
The counties with the highest scores for recreation centers, senior living, and medical care were generally in Northern California, making SLO something of an outlier in these categories.
Somewhat surprisingly, the county performed better than any other in the top 10 in the area of medical care, with 2.04 medical centers per 1,000 residents.
3 Cities in SLO County Are Among the Best Places to Retire in California, According to Website
Marin County, considered the best place to retire in California, has the same number of medical centers, while Orange County, ranked 8th overall, has 2.11 medical centers per 1,000 residents.
San Luis Obispo County ranked highly despite a relatively high tax burden of 16.1% – more than seven other counties in the top 10.
No other Central Coast county made SmartAsset’s top 10; Santa Barbara ranks 15th and Monterey ranks 32nd overall.
Here is the full list of the top 10:
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Marin County
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San Luis Obispo County
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Placer County
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Tuolumne County
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Nevada County
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Shasta County
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Amador County
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Orange County
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Ventura County
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El Dorado County
Local cities have also become increasingly popular as retirement destinations in recent years.
In a 2022 list by WorldAtlas, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo were among the 11 best small cities in California.
“California is a popular state for retirees because of its proximity to beaches, financially stable economy and great climate,” the travel website says. “(Here) retirees will never feel underappreciated for their busy lives.”
