AARP has ranked San Francisco as the No. 1 “very large” (population 500,000+) community in the U.S. on its 2025 list of top places to live for older adults.
The rankings are part of AARP’s annual Livability Index, which evaluates communities using 61 indicators across seven categories: Housing, Neighborhood, Transportation, Environment, Health, Engagement, and Opportunity.
In the very large category (500,000+ population), San Francisco topped the list. San Mateo County ranked 24th out of the top 25 communities.
In the large communities category (100,000–499,999 population), Marin County placed 12th among the top 25 ranked areas.
No California communities appeared among the 25 best mid-size (25,000–99,999) places to live. However, Fairfax, California, ranked 22nd among the top 25 small communities (5,000–24,999 population).
See the full list here.
List and data were compiled by AARP and do not reflect statistics on all communities.