Forget Florida, Retire To A Top-Rated Midwest County With Lakes, Trails, And A Vibrant City Instead

What if Florida's muggy summers and blinding sun do a number on your health? What if you aren't a fan of the state's knack for hurricanes, or the perpetual "Florida man" meme? Where can a person gracefully age out of the workforce and retire if not to the stereotypical Sunshine State escape? A top-rated Midwest destination offers an alternative for retirees and a welcome change of pace for travelers. Ramsey County, which includes the vibrant city of St. Paul, offers trails, lakes, and an affordable reason to forget Florida for both short and longer stays.

The Motley Fool ranked Ramsey County the second-best place to retire in the Midwest in 2026, and seventh in the entire country. The site assumed retirees value healthcare, quality of life, and housing when choosing where to spend their post-work lives, with the cost of living and recreation as major concerns. After crunching numbers from publicly available data, Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, topped the list. Ramsey County came in second, with St. Paul serving as the foundation for its high ranking. The vibrant city's rich cultural offerings include several museums, farmers markets, and a blossoming food and craft beer scene. Summers are also filled with festivals and the Minnesota State Fair at the end of August.

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest an often-cold county of 540,000 residents in Minnesota can be a suitable alternative to Florida. But Ramsey County checks several boxes for retirees. The neighborhood-rating site Niche gives it an A or better grade in several key areas, from family-friendliness and diversity to outdoor activities and health. Though it lacks the warmth and beaches of the Sunshine State, Ramsey County offers similar perks, just in different flavors — and at a lower price.

This being Minnesota, lakes are pretty much par for the course. Ramsey County has over 100, and yet somehow still has the fewest of any county in the Twin Cities area. Como Lake — not to be confused with its glitzier Italian sibling — is a 68-acre oasis of paddle-only serenity. Like many of Ramsey County's lakes, it has an accompanying 450-acre park that enriches the experience. It's next to the must-visit, family-friendly Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. 

Not to be outdone, Lake Phalen, one of Ramsey County's largest, allows boats and paddling (though it's electric motors only). It includes a swimming beach and boat rentals for vessel-less travelers and retirees. It's also the southern tip of a chain of lakes connected by creeks, going up towards Keller Lake, past two more before reaching Gervais Lake. Consider it the aquatic equivalent of a hike, though there are plenty of those available in Ramsey County.

There are six regional trails that create a 92-mile network of varying outdoor adventures, some straddling the meeting point between the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The Rice Creek North Regional Trail spans nearly 14 miles, hugging Rice Creek as it traverses Ramsey and neighboring Anoka County. Consider it the smorgasbord hike for your first taste of the area. Covering diverse terrain, hikers can go from pine stands to lakes, prairies, marshes, and woodlands, with bluebirds, deer, and ospreys dotting the course. If the grandkids come to town, the Tamarack Nature Center offers a web of treks, from longer 2.5-mile outings to short half-mile bursts. Plus, a pleasant stroll doesn't necessarily require locating a park: St. Paul, the county's heart, was ranked a "walker's paradise" by the walkability site Walk Score.

Ramsey County's relative accessibility for travelers and residents makes it an ideal destination for retirees, who may want their families to visit. It's home to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), a major travel hub that's reachable from virtually any other city in the U.S. It also won't break the bank. The Motley Fool lauded Ramsey County's cost of living, with Niche reporting that both median rents and home values are below the national average. 

But not all the financials worked in its favor. Higher-than-average taxation and climbing housing costs were noted by The Motley Fool. The county's healthcare and safety numbers present a mixed bag. The Motley Fool's rankings panned its healthcare system, giving it a paltry score (though admittedly none of the counties in its rankings earned plaudits). The county's crime figures are above the national average in most categories, according to Niche. All of this — especially those high property taxes — held the county back. And let's not forget the ever-looming prospect of a bone-chilling winter.

Choosing Ramsey County for retirement, or just a trip, requires balanced expectations. Yes, it has neighborhoods full of cozy vibes in friendly shops, like Highland Park. Nearby outdoor gems like Fort Snelling State Park offer fishing, swimming, and trails. Yet it also requires a bit of nuance and perspective. "Honestly, Ramsey is a strange place," one resident wrote in a review on Niche. "While it may seem to others that it's any other suburb of a large and vibrant city, Ramsey, Minnesota, has the perfect mix [from] drunk people on golf carts, teenagers who blast music from their cars, to the average American family."