Centennial Lands at No. 240 on U.S. News Retirement List

Centennial ranked 240th on a national retirement list released Tuesday, Oct. 27, making it the only Colorado city to appear among the 250 locations U.S. News & World Report selected. The ranking drew on surveys of people age 45 and older about what they want in a retirement city. U.S. News then compiled those concerns and assigned weights to them for the rankings.

The ranking examined more than 850 cities nationwide. Quality-of-life measures carried the heaviest weight, with affordability second. Those measures cover weather, jobs, and access to retail and activities, along with health care, retiree taxes, and migration patterns for people 55 and older. Centennial sits in the south Denver metro next to Aurora, has a population of 108,000, and is a 30-minute drive from Denver. Its unemployment rate falls below the national figure of 4.54%.

Housing costs pushed Centennial down the list. The median home value in Centennial reaches $658,875, according to Zillow, while the national median stands at $382,333. U.S. News wrote in its ranking that "Centennial offers a higher cost of living compared to similarly sized cities." The city's median household income is $136,741, against a national median of $83,181.

Centennial also appears on other U.S. News lists released earlier this year. It placed 107th among the best places to live in the country and second in Colorado, behind Parker. The city is home to a small airport and a Topgolf location.

Midland, Michigan, took the top spot on the retirement ranking, with Homosassa Springs, Florida, second. Muncie, Indiana, and Corpus Christi, Texas, fell just below Centennial. U.S. News also issued top-25 lists for large, midsized, and small cities; no Colorado city appeared on those.