Best gay retirement cities: eight places compared on the law, home values and community

How we compared them

For the US cities we used two measures. The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) scores every state's LGBTQ+ laws and rates them from High to Negative. MAP is clear that the scores look only at the laws themselves, not at the social climate or how the laws are applied, so a low score doesn't tell you what a particular town feels like. For housing we used the Zillow Home Value Index, Zillow's estimate of a typical home's value in each city. Then we looked for an LGBTQ+ center or group that's active today, ideally with something for older people. We haven't scored climate, local healthcare or everyday living costs, which are worth checking on a visit.

Healthcare works differently at home and abroad. In all five US cities you'd use Medicare as you would anywhere in the country. Outside the US, Medicare usually doesn't pay, which changes the sums.

Palm Springs, California

California has the highest MAP score of the states in this comparison, rated High. The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, based in Palm Springs, runs a behavioral health clinic and a food bank among other services. The catch is the desert summer, which is very hot, and home values above most of the list. We look at it in more detail in our Palm Springs guide.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

New Mexico's laws are rated Medium overall, and High on gender identity, which matters if you're trans or have trans friends and family. Human Rights Alliance runs the PRIDE Center on Parkway Drive, offering counseling and help with health care. It's a smaller scene than Palm Springs, so expect to build some of your social life yourself.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Rehoboth has the highest typical home value here, at about $804,000 (Zillow notes its figure draws on the surrounding area). What you get is CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBTQ+ community center on Baltimore Avenue with a Beebe Health suite, weekly tai chi and a program on senior LGBTQ+ needs. Delaware's laws are rated Medium.

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville has the lowest typical home value on the list, at about $449,000. Blue Ridge Pride runs Generation Plus, a program of events for LGBTQ+ people aged 55 and over. Two things weigh against it. North Carolina's laws are rated Low. And Hurricane Helene hit the area hard in September 2024: 43 people died in Buncombe County, and a year later parts of the region were still being repaired (The Hill, 2025). Look closely at any property's flood and landslide risk.

Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors, Florida

Wilton Manors sits next to Fort Lauderdale. The Pride Center at Equality Park there runs an Active Aging program, and calls its Tuesday morning Coffee and Conversation "the largest weekly gathering of LGBTQ+ Active Agers in the nation." Florida's current state policy score is the lowest here, rated Negative by MAP. That score is about state law. It doesn't measure local services like the Pride Center, or what daily life is like in Wilton Manors, so weigh the two separately. Our Florida guide covers the options there.

Retiring abroad: three to look at

Moving abroad changes the money and the paperwork. Medicare usually doesn't cover care outside the US, so you'll need local or private health cover. You'll also need a residence permit. Spain's non-working residence permit, for example, asks for public or private health insurance from an insurer authorized in Spain. Check the rules with the country's consulate before you plan anything.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Same-sex marriage has been legal in all 32 Mexican states since October 2022, when Tamaulipas became the last to allow it (PBS). Mexico News Daily calls Puerto Vallarta "Mexico's queer capital" and its Zona Romántica "a full-blown gayborhood". Vallarta Pride has grown from 40 people and three floats at its first parade to more than 2,000 people and 50 floats a year (July 2025).

Sitges, Spain

Spain came first in ILGA-Europe's 2026 Rainbow Map of LGBTQ+ rights, with a score of 89%. Sitges, a small seaside town southwest of Barcelona, is well enough known as a gay destination that its tourism office has a whole LGBTIQ+ guide. Like most beach towns, it's much busier in summer than in winter, which some people love and others find lonely.

Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal came 12th in the same ranking, with 67%. ILGA Portugal runs an LGBTI+ community center in Lisbon's Baixa district, open in the evenings from Wednesday to Friday and on Saturdays, with groups ranging from a choir to a book club. Lisbon is a capital city, so you get more of everything, with city prices to match.

Where to start

Pick two or three places from this list and visit each one out of season, when you'll meet the people who actually live there. Go to a coffee meetup or a group at the local LGBTQ+ center. And if you'd rather not move on your own, look for people who'd like to go with you. On Among Our People you can browse projects that are forming, or post your idea on the online notice board and see who answers.