Fox Business ranks Rio Rancho among top five U.S. retiree cities

Fox Business has placed Rio Rancho among the top five retirement cities in the United States, but the ranking reads less like a lifestyle flourish than an affordability test for one of Sandoval County’s fastest-growing cities. The roundup leaned on cost of living, housing prices and senior amenities, putting the spotlight on whether Rio Rancho’s appeal is being driven by real day-to-day economics or by a polished retirement image.

The numbers give the city a mixed picture. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Rio Rancho’s population at 114,419 as of July 1, 2025, up from 104,046 at the 2020 Census. People 65 and older make up 17.6% of residents, a sizable share for a city that still has the feel of a growth market in the Albuquerque metro area. The median value of owner-occupied housing units is $310,200, the owner-occupied housing rate is 82.2%, and the median gross rent is $1,514. Those figures help explain why Rio Rancho keeps landing on national retiree lists, but they also show the cost pressures that come with popularity.

National rankings have used a broader lens than price alone. U.S. News & World Report, which named the best places to retire in the U.S. in 2026, said it analyzed 150 top cities and weighed happiness, affordability, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability and the job market. Rio Rancho has also surfaced in other retirement and liveability lists, including Fortune, often cited for its southwest setting, affordability, health care access and quality of life. In other words, the city’s retirement case is not built on one factor, but on a bundle of them that must still hold up for residents paying local housing costs.

Former Mayor Gregg Hull has helped shape that narrative. Hull, Rio Rancho’s longest-serving mayor, left office in 2026 after nearly 12 years and has said the city’s population grew by about 20% during his tenure. The city also points to investments in senior services, including the Broadmoor Senior Center, which opened on September 10, 2021 as Rio Rancho’s second senior center. For a city selling itself as retirement-friendly, those facilities matter just as much as the rankings.

The bigger question now is whether Rio Rancho can keep its affordability edge while continuing to grow. The city’s national profile is rising, but the real measure will be whether longtime residents, new retirees and families all still find the housing, services and everyday costs manageable as the population keeps climbing.