This ‘scenic’ Florida city ranks No. 1 among retirement ‘boomtowns.’ Here’s why
A Florida city boasts lakefront scenery — and tops a list of retirement “boomtowns.”
Leesburg ranks No. 1 on a list of U.S. cities that are quickly attracting older residents, according to results published July 30.
The central Florida destination wasn’t the only place in the Sunshine State to rank among the top 10 “hotspots” for retirees to live. Here’s how other cities fared in the report from the personal finance website GOBankingRates:
- Edgewater at No. 3
- Tavares at No. 5
- Fort Pierce at No. 7
- Clermont at No. 8
To create the list, GOBankingRates said it studied all cities across the country with “at least 7,500 people ages 65 and over and with an average percent of the population ages 65 and over greater than the national average of 16.84%.” Using the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, it focused on population changes from 2018 to 2023.
“Florida emerged as the clear leader in GOBankingRates’ ranking of America’s fastest-growing retirement boomtowns, driven by sharp increases in its 65+ population in smaller, lesser-known cities,” Andrew Murray, lead content researcher for the website, told McClatchy News via email.
What makes Leesburg a special place to retire?
Leesburg landed in the top spot after its population of older adults “boomed over 54% since 2018.” The city is now home to more than 8,200 people ages 65 and older, results show.
Leesburg — which has over 28,000 residents in total — is a roughly 50-mile drive northwest from Orlando. The destination boasts a “lively downtown scene” and is close to lakes that offer fishing, boating and other activities, according to the city and the Discover Lake County Florida website.
“Leesburg claimed the #1 spot, in part due to its unique blend of affordability, scenic lakefront living, and proximity to The Villages, one of the nation’s largest retirement communities,” Murray wrote. “Other Florida cities that made the list share similar traits: they offer a quieter lifestyle, strong community infrastructure for seniors, and the kind of charm that’s often overlooked in more tourist-heavy areas.”
Leesburg isn’t far from Tavares and Clermont, two other destinations that landed in the top 10. The other Florida winners — Edgewater and Fort Pierce — are on the state’s Atlantic side.
But none of those Florida cities ranked as the overall top “boomtown” in the Sunshine State. Instead, the Orlando-area destination of Horizon West was named the state’s No. 1 place for “rapid business and population growth,” according to a separate report GOBankingRates published in October.
On the latest list of the nation’s top-growing retirement destinations, here are the places that rounded out the top five:
- Goodyear, Arizona, at No. 2
- Peoria, Arizona, at No. 4
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 12:16 PM with the headline "This ‘scenic’ Florida city ranks No. 1 among retirement ‘boomtowns.’ Here’s why."
