Here Are the Top 5 Safest Cities to Retire in 2026
Key Points
Crime safety is an often overlooked factor that directly impacts the quality of life every single day in retirement.
All five cities offer crime scores of 85 or higher, but each comes with trade-offs in climate, cost, or amenities that retirees should weigh carefully.
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When most people picture their retirement, they think about healthcare, housing costs, and whether they can afford to eat out once a week. Those things matter. But there's one factor that affects your quality of life every single day that doesn't get nearly enough attention: how safe the place actually is.
The Motley Fool recently scored cities across seven categories -- quality of life, healthcare, housing, cost of living, crime, tax, and climate -- and rolled them into a total retirement score. Five cities scored 85 or higher for crime safety (higher is better).
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Here are the top five according to The Motley Fool's 2026 Best Places to Retire.
5. Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Total retirement score: 49 | Crime: 87
Allentown posted the highest crime safety score on this list, and it's in the middle of a genuine transformation. A wave of development -- fueled by a Neighborhood Improvement Zone tax incentive -- has turned a once-struggling downtown into an active construction site with new apartments, a waterfront district, and a $272 million mixed-use arena block. The first waterfront buildings are already open, and more are being delivered through mid-2026.
Healthcare is a bright spot -- St. Luke's is the only Lehigh Valley system with Medicare's five-star rating -- and homes run around $247,000.
There are, of course, trade-offs: construction noise, shifting neighborhoods, and the growing pains of a city transforming itself. Property taxes are among the highest in the state, winters bring harsh weather, and summer humidity hits 80%.
4. Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island
Total retirement score: 51 | Crime: 86
If culture and walkability are what you're optimizing for, nothing else on this list comes close. It's widely regarded as a mecca for the arts. Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design are right there. The food scene is nationally ranked. And unlike most midsize cities, you can actually walk to things -- the East Side neighborhoods around Fox Point and Wayland Square have the kind of street-level life that most retirees have to move to a major metro to find.
But Providence is genuinely expensive. Median home prices run north of $510,000. And the climate can be hard for many with significant annual snowfall and Nor'easters off Narragansett Bay.
3. Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Total retirement score: 53 | Crime: 85
Williamsport is the cheapest option on this list by a wide margin -- homes average around $150,000, less than half the national average. If stretching your savings is the priority, the math works.
The Susquehanna River setting is genuinely beautiful, but Williamsport is a place for retirees who want affordable peace and don't mind that the nearest big-city amenity is an hour away.
Image source: Getty Images.
2. Lynchburg, Lynchburg City, Virginia
Total retirement score: 54 | Crime: 85
Lynchburg has the best climate score of the five (72) and the lowest taxes, thanks to Virginia's friendlier retirement tax environment. The city sits at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains and offers beautiful views. The downtown has been through a serious revitalization and is on the other side of any major construction.
What might surprise you is Liberty University's footprint. Over 16,000 residential students means Lynchburg has college-town energy that most small Southern cities lack, but it also means semester-transition traffic and a younger demographic that may or may not match what you're looking for.
And although it scored high on climate, it can get humid. August humidity averages 79%.
1. Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Total retirement score: 56 | Crime: 86
Pittsburgh leads this list, and for good reason -- it's the rare city where you get genuine urban amenities at a below-average cost of living. Homes average around $208,000 to $242,000, and Pennsylvania doesn't tax Social Security income. It's also the one city on the list to have a robust public transit system, including a light rail system.
The city has real cultural institutions like the Carnegie Museum, the Pittsburgh Symphony at Heinz Hall, and a legitimate theater district. And Squirrel Hill -- where many retirees land -- is highly walkable.
There are always trade-offs: Pittsburgh is one of the cloudiest cities in America, and the winters can be bitterly cold.
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