Retirees Are Leaving These 6 Texas Cities in Droves (And Going to These 6 Spots Instead)

Texas has become one of the country's biggest retirement magnets. Between 2019 and 2024, the state added 626,742 residents 65 and older, a 16.8% jump, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. But that wave didn't wash over every city equally, and if you're hoping to stretch your retirement dollars further, where you land in Texas could matter more than you think.

FinanceBuzz compared Census counts of older residents across 62 large Texas cities and paired them with Zillow housing data. Just seven of those cities ended up with fewer seniors than they had five years earlier. Here are the six with the steepest drops, followed by six places where retirees are showing up in force. 

In several cases, the winners sit just a few miles from the losers.

Pharr, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 9,084 to 7,436 (-18.1%)

Median rent: $935 a month

Average home value: $161,323

Pharr once grew on the backs of snowbirds. The Handbook of Texas credits part of its rise to vacationers and retirees drawn by the Rio Grande Valley's warm winters. These days the city's identity is freight. The Pharr International Bridge is the No. 1 produce crossing in the country, and roughly 70% of all avocados entering the U.S. pass through it, KRGV reported in July 2026.

That shift shows up in the headcount. Pharr has 1,648 fewer residents 65 and older than it did in 2019, the steepest percentage drop of any large city in Texas. The kicker? It's also one of the cheapest places on this list, with median rent under $1,000 a month.

Pflugerville, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 6,413 to 5,622 (-12.3%)

Median rent: $2,135 a month

Average home value: $369,503

Pflugerville was the fastest-growing community in Texas during most of the 1980s, according to the Handbook of Texas. It's booming again, but the newcomers are mostly young families and workers. Community Impact counted 434 single-family permits issued in the city by July 2025 and pointed to Samsung's chip plant in nearby Taylor as a driver of land values.

The school district is racing to keep up. Pflugerville ISD enrolled 25,562 students in 2023-24, with more than 6,800 apartment units under construction inside its boundaries, Community Impact reported. With a median rent of $2,135, the highest of any city in this story, Pflugerville has become a place built for paychecks, not pensions.

Cedar Park, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 9,907 to 8,970 (-9.5%)

Median rent: $1,921 a month

Average home value: $463,623

Cedar Park's biggest recent headline came from the moon. Firefly Aerospace, headquartered in the city, became the first commercial company to land on the lunar surface and just opened a new spacecraft cleanroom at its 144,000-square-foot campus, Community Impact reported in September 2026.

Back on Earth, the town is filling up with kids. Leander ISD projected Cedar Park High School to run about 200 students over capacity in 2026, according to Community Impact. Meanwhile, the average home here costs more than $463,000, the priciest on this list and well above the national average of $357,275. That's a tough price tag for anyone living on a fixed income.

McAllen, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 22,096 to 20,191 (-8.6%)

Median rent: $970 a month

Average home value: $223,108

For decades, McAllen's winters belonged to Winter Texans, the retirees who drive south every year to escape the cold. That crowd is changing. A Visit McAllen executive told Valley Business Report in 2025 that the new generation of visitors skews younger and spends less time in RV parks, and local leaders have raised concerns about declining Winter Texan numbers.

McAllen now courts visitors with festivals, a Christmas parade, and birding at Quinta Mazatlan instead. Year-round, it lost 1,905 residents 65 and older over five years, the largest raw decline on this list. That's notable in a city where median rent sits at just $970 a month, about $500 below the national median.

Midland, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 15,625 to 14,491 (-7.3%)

Median rent: $1,632 a month

Average home value: $322,469

Midland runs on oil, and the fracking boom has reshaped the city around working-age families. In 2023, voters passed a $1.415 billion school bond, the largest in the community's history, to build two new high schools and relieve years of overcrowding, Marfa Public Radio reported.

Housing has followed the rigs. The local Realtors board president told NewsWest 9 that single-family homes renting for $1,600 to $1,700 a month had jumped to about $1,900, and rentals were disappearing within days. Only about one in 10 Midland residents is 65 or older today.

North Richland Hills, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 11,675 to 10,877 (-6.8%)

Median rent: $1,770 a month

Average home value: $358,436

North Richland Hills started in 1950 as a farm turned subdivision, according to the Handbook of Texas. The Fort Worth suburb now pitches itself as a playground. The city's economic development site highlights Malibu Jack's, billed as the largest indoor theme park in Texas, and a 14-acre Peppa Pig Theme Park was slated to open beside the NRH2O water park, Community Impact reported.

The seniors who stayed have a good deal. The city offers a $36,000 senior exemption plus a tax freeze that covers one in four homeowners, according to the city's own FAQ. Even so, the town has 798 fewer residents 65 and older than in 2019.

So where are Texas retirees heading instead? Often, just down the road. Each of the following cities added thousands of residents 65 and older in five years, growing more than twice as fast as the state's senior population as a whole.

Lewisville, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 10,055 to 15,945 (+58.6%)

Median rent: $1,746 a month

Average home value: $387,265

In the same Dallas-Fort Worth metro where North Richland Hills lost seniors, Lewisville posted the fastest senior growth on this list. Its calling card is Lewisville Lake, a reservoir of about 27,175 acres roughly 20 miles northwest of Dallas, according to the Texas Water Development Board.

Health care is close by, too. Medical City Lewisville marked 50 years in 2026 and now operates as a 191-bed hospital and Level III Trauma Center, according to the hospital. The city's Thrive multigenerational center also serves meals to seniors on-site through a partnership with the nonprofit Span, Community Impact reported.

New Braunfels, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 12,803 to 20,104 (+57.0%)

Median rent: $1,682 a month

Average home value: $345,558

New Braunfels might be the most retiree-friendly postcard in Texas. The spring-fed Comal River, said to be the shortest river in the U.S., runs about 3 miles through town, much of it lined with parkland, per the Handbook of Texas. Over in Gruene, now part of the city, Gruene Hall claims the title of oldest operating dance hall in Texas, according to the Handbook.

Builders have noticed. Del Webb's 55+ community at Veramendi broke ground on a 12,000-square-foot amenity center in late 2025 with a resort-style pool, pickleball and bocce courts, and walking trails, Community Impact reported. The city added 7,301 residents 65 and older in five years, and the average home still comes in below the national average.

Round Rock, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 10,798 to 16,263 (+50.6%)

Median rent: $1,826 a month

Average home value: $405,513

Here's the twist: Round Rock borders both Cedar Park and Pflugerville, yet its senior population grew by half while theirs shrank. One reason could be the Allen R. Baca Center, a downtown hub for adults 50 and older with a weight room, billiards, and dance classes that celebrated 20 years in 2026, according to the city.

The city opened new pickleball and tennis courts at the Adult Recreation Complex in Old Settlers Park in April 2026, per the city. And Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Round Rock opened a $220 million expansion in 2025 that roughly doubles its capacity, according to the health system.

League City, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 12,811 to 19,224 (+50.1%)

Median rent: $1,594 a month

Average home value: $362,312

League City sits between Houston and Galveston Bay, and it's making a direct play for older homeowners. In 2025, the city council unanimously doubled the homestead exemption for residents 65 and older, from $100,000 to $200,000, Community Impact reported.

Hospital access is growing, too. The University of Texas System approved a $300 million expansion of the UTMB Health League City campus, according to UTMB. More than a quarter of local households already collect retirement income, and median rent is close to the national median at $1,594.

Conroe, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 12,371 to 17,307 (+39.9%)

Median rent: $1,435 a month

Average home value: $311,069

Conroe is lake country. Its namesake lake spans about 22,000 acres with 156 miles of shoreline, bordered by the Sam Houston National Forest and the Lone Star Hiking Trail, according to Visit Conroe. In 2022, the city raised its over-65 homestead exemption from $15,000 to $40,000, Community Impact reported.

The 55+ crowd was already pouring in. The number of residents 55 and older in Conroe-area ZIP codes rose 40.2% from 2016 to 2021, and a nearby 55+ community with a golf course and lake access drew more than 1,000 people to its grand opening, according to Community Impact. Median rent here is $1,435, slightly below the national median.

Mission, Texas

Residents 65+ (2019 to 2024): 9,503 to 13,114 (+38.0%)

Median rent: $1,026 a month

Average home value: $216,715

While McAllen and Pharr lost seniors, Mission, which sits in the same county just a few miles west, gained 3,611 of them. The Winter Texan tradition is alive here: Mission has about 50 RV parks and welcomes an estimated 25,000 seasonal residents, according to a 2025 Texas House resolution. The local chamber even throws a free annual Winter Texan Fiesta, per Valley Business Report.

It's also a birder's dream. The World Birding Center headquarters sits at the entrance to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, according to the city. Add Mission Regional Medical Center, which has grown to 297 beds, per the Progress Times, and a median rent of $1,026, and it's easy to see the appeal.

Bottom line

Texas retirees aren't abandoning the state. They're sorting themselves. The cities losing older residents tend to be ones reshaped by chip plants, oil rigs, crowded schools, or a freight boom, while the winners offer lakes, rivers, pickleball courts, hospitals, and bigger property tax breaks for seniors.

In several cases, the better fit is just one exit away. If you're planning a move, compare housing costs, health care access, and local tax exemptions city by city, since claiming every break you qualify for is one of the simplest ways to maximize your senior benefits.

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