DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado wasn’t a highly popular state for retirees the year following the COVID pandemic’s break.
Colorado is one of the 10 states that lost the most retirees in 2021, according to a SmartAsset analysis of migration data. The analysis used U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to find the net migration of residents over 60 years old.
Though Colorado lost retirees, the retirees who stayed increasingly preferred Fort Collins.
Colorado lost 5,249 people 60 and older in 2021, the 10th-highest number in the U.S.
Virginia lost the next most with 5,963.
Retirees are moving away from states that are expensive, cold, or both. They fled from California most. The Golden State lost 71,828 retirement-age residents in 2021, part of an overall exodus of all ages from that state.
New York, which also lost people of all age groups, lost the second most retirees, 46,709 in all, followed by Illinois and New Jersey.
Warmer, sunnier locations attracted retirees the most. Florida gained a greater number of retirees than California lost, just over 78,000 in all. Arizona, the Carolinas and Tennessee gained the next most.
Fort Collins, however, is among the top 20 cities attracting retirees.
Fort Collins had a net gain of 621 retirees in 2021, the 20th highest among the 146 cities SmartAsset analyzed.
Mesa, Arizona and Henderson, Nevada gained the most with 3,600 and 1,600, respectively.
Other Colorado cities ranked low. Denver only gained 97 retirees in 2021. Boulder lost 46, and Aurora lost 477.