11 Best Places To Retire On The Gulf Coast

Most retirees on the Gulf Coast are not relocating from far away. They are moving down the road. The eleven towns ahead are picked for that audience: people who already live in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, or Texas and are looking for a smaller, more affordable Gulf town to settle into. Punta Gorda has 18 miles of bike trails and 109 miles of seawalled canals. Fairhope is three blocks from a pier on Mobile Bay. Bay St. Louis runs about 13 percent below the national cost of living. Pass Christian's safety rating sits in the 93rd percentile. These are eleven of the best places to retire on the Gulf Coast.

Punta Gorda, Florida

Punta Gorda runs 18 miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails through neighborhoods, parks, and commercial areas, and 109 miles of seawalled canals along its waterfront. Full-service marinas, boat launches, and piers cover most of the waterfront. The result is a town that runs on the water, with a calendar most retirees in Florida already recognize.

Owner-occupancy in Punta Gorda runs well above the national average per recent ACS estimates, and the local market has been a steady landing spot for retirees moving in from elsewhere in Florida. Punta Gorda's crime rate is lower than average compared to other communities of its size per FBI data, and the combination of safety and walkability is most of why the town keeps showing up on Florida retirement lists.

Dunedin, Florida

Dunedin's median property values run around $375,000, which is in range for retirees coming from Tampa, Clearwater, or further north. The Dunedin Fine Art Center anchors the cultural side, while the city's role as the spring training home for the Dunedin Blue Jays and the Toronto Blue Jays adds a familiar baseball calendar to the year.

Dunedin averages 242 sunny days a year, and the city's crime rate runs lower than 58 percent of Florida communities. Both factors help explain why Dunedin pulls a steady stream of retirees from the Tampa Bay metro area.

Venice, Florida

Downtown Venice has a steady arts scene, with galleries, museums, and frequent art fairs. Property tax rates run lower than most other places in Florida, which helps stretch a fixed income against Venice's slightly higher-than-average cost of living.

Outdoor activities are easy to find. Casting a line at the Venice Fishing Pier, walking the dogs at Brohard Paw Park, or hitting the Venice Community Center for concerts, yoga, and society meetings all work as part of a regular weekly schedule.

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Bay St. Louis works for retirees on a slimmer budget. The Economic Research Institute estimates the cost of living in Bay St. Louis runs 13 percent lower than the national average, and violent crime registers far less frequently than the national average.

The town's historical landmarks support a slow week. The Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum is a local favorite, and the Mardi Gras Museum keeps a year-round connection to the season most coastal Mississippians plan their year around. The Bay St. Louis Municipal Harbor handles pontoon rentals and chartered fishing.

Fairhope, Alabama

Alabama runs solid tax breaks for retirees. Residents 65 and older can be exempt from the state portion of property tax on a primary home (subject to qualifying conditions), and federal Social Security benefits and disability retirement payments are tax-exempt. Retired civil servants and military veterans also benefit from favorable treatment of retirement income, which matters for the steady stream of retirees moving into Fairhope from Mobile and Pensacola.

The cost of living and healthcare costs both run lower than the national average, and Fairhope's crime rate is well under the national figure. The Municipal Pier covers the morning fishing crowd, the Museum of History fills in the local backstory, and the downtown three blocks above the bluff has the boutique shops and restaurants most residents already factor into a weekly routine.

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Alabama's tax incentives for retirees apply just as strongly in Gulf Shores, which adds a much more active beach scene than Fairhope. Coastal Segway Adventures and Alligator Alley both run year-round, and the regular trips up to Mobile or over to Pensacola keep the surrounding area in easy reach.

Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile lets retirees tour the USS Alabama and the USS Drum, and Pensacola's National Naval Aviation Museum has free admission. Closer to home, The Hangout, Adventure Island Family Entertainment Park, and the Wharf entertainment district fill out the local schedule. The Economic Research Institute reports that the cost of living runs 4 percent below the national average in Gulf Shores.

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Pass Christian sits on the slower side of the Mississippi coast, with historic homes shaded by oaks and an unhurried pace. CrimeGrade.org ranks the town in the 93rd percentile of safety, and the cost of living runs 16 percent below the national average.

A morning fishing charter, a stop at Cat Island Coffeehouse, and a round at The Oaks Golf Club fill out a typical week. Retirees moving in from New Orleans or Gulfport know the rhythm.

Port Aransas, Texas

Port Aransas runs an annual average temperature of 71.5 degrees, and Mustang Island State Park covers biking, wildlife viewing, and kayaking close to town. The summer fishing tournament calendar is the long-running social anchor.

For a small town, Port Aransas covers solid medical access, with hospitals and clinics within an easy drive in the greater Corpus Christi area. Texas has no state income tax, so Social Security retirement benefits and other retirement income stay tax-free, which matters most for retirees moving in from elsewhere in Texas who already count on that.

Rockport, Texas

Rockport runs a lower-than-average cost of living and a steady arts community supported by an unusually high proportion of working artists. The Rockport Center for the Arts puts up monthly exhibits and runs art classes, and the Texas Maritime Museum and Fulton Mansion & Education History Center handle the indoor schedule.

Goose Island State Park sits within easy reach for fishing, camping, sightseeing, and seasonal birding tours. For retirees moving down from San Antonio or in from Houston, the appeal is the same combination of slower pace and smaller crowds.

Cedar Key, Florida

Cedar Key has about 800 residents, a historic downtown, and a well-known seafood scene. The cost of living runs 16 percent below the national average, which gives the town a different fit than Punta Gorda or Dunedin.

Birding at one of the area's protected sanctuaries, miles of nature trails, and chartered fishing or snorkeling all sit within walking distance of the downtown. Florida's lack of a personal income tax keeps retirement distributions from pensions, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs untaxed at the state and local level, which is most of the financial case for staying in-state in Florida.

Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi works for retirees who want more activity than Pass Christian or Bay St. Louis. The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, Harrah's Gulf Coast, and the Palace Casino Resort run year-round, and the chartered fishing fleet covers most of the rest of the calendar.

The Economic Research Institute estimates the cost of living runs 15 percent below the national average. Crime varies by neighborhood, so newcomers familiar with the Coast usually take a closer look at specific areas before settling in. Most retirees here are moving in from elsewhere on the Mississippi or Alabama coast.

The eleven Gulf Coast towns above each fit a different version of retirement within the same region. Pass Christian and Cedar Key sit on the quiet end. Biloxi and Gulf Shores cover more activity. Punta Gorda and Dunedin run on a higher property cost. Cost of living, taxes, healthcare, and crime all vary state by state and town by town along the Gulf, and the right pick comes down to which version of the coast a retiree already knows best.