Just looked into some research on the richest cities in the south for retirement, and honestly, Florida really dominates this category. Out of 14 wealthy retirement communities in the southern US, 9 are in Florida alone. Pretty wild.

Naples tops the list with a median household income around $140k and over half the population being 65+. But there are some other solid options too if you're looking at richest cities in the south - places like Lakewood Ranch and Palm City also hit six figures for median income. Even Marco Island and Palmer Ranch, which have crazy high percentages of seniors (around 50%), still maintain solid incomes.

What surprised me is that most of these towns aren't just expensive - they've got decent livability scores too. Parole, Maryland and Palm City both hit the low 80s. If you're seriously thinking about where to retire with real money behind you, the richest cities in the south seem to offer that mix of affluence and actual quality of life.

The research looked at communities with populations over 15k and at least 25% seniors, so these aren't tiny villages - they're actual towns with infrastructure. Median incomes in all but two of these richest cities in the south are six figures, which tells you something about who's retiring there. Worth checking out if you've got the means and want to stay in warmer climates.