{"id":41613,"date":"2026-08-12T20:58:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41613"},"modified":"2026-08-12T20:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:58:43","slug":"california-counties-among-best-places-to-retire-on-west-coast-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41613","title":{"rendered":"California counties among best places to retire on West Coast: report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2FMedocino-Alt.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A coastal NorCal county has cracked the list of \u201cBest Places to Retire in the West\u201d \u2014 along with several other California counties.<\/p>\n<p>The report, released by investing research platform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/research\/best-places-to-retire-in-the-west\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Motley Fool<\/a>, ranked locations across the American West based on seven factors of retired life: healthcare, housing affordability, crime and safety, climate, state and local taxes, on-housing affordability, and overall quality of life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The platform ranked places based on seven factors that contribute to retired life.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images\/Westend61<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NorCal\u2019s Mendocino County ranked number seven on the list.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMendocino County offers a quiet, scenic coastal lifestyle with small towns, redwood forests, and rugged Pacific Ocean views,\u201d the report reads. <\/p>\n<p>The platform noted Mendocino for its access to nature, including Headlands State Park and Glass Beach. Summers in the NorCal county also tend to be cooler than more inland places in California, and the cost of living is in line with the national average, according to the report.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>NorCal county Mendocino County features miles of stunning coast, as well as access to natural wonders. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The downsides of the county include its limited healthcare access, higher housing costs in relation to wages, and a higher tax burden. You\u2019ll have to drive far to make it to shopping, airports, and medical care. <\/p>\n<p>The climate in the county is also a drawback, with often overcast and foggy conditions. <\/p>\n<p>Located between the San Francisco Bay Area and the California\/Oregon border, Mendocino is also known for its wine region and cultivation of cannabis.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Drawbacks of the county include higher housing costs in relation to wages and often overcast weather. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With a population density of just 26 square miles per person, Mendocino has plenty of space for retirees to spread out. <\/p>\n<p>The county is along California\u2019s \u201cLost Coast\u201d, a natural, underdeveloped part of the state that includes Humboldt County.<\/p>\n<p>In the inland part of the county, you can find the Mendocino National Forest. Teeming with rich biodiversity, the park spans more than one million acres. It\u2019s also the only forest reserve in the state that isn\u2019t carved up by a major roadway,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The county\u2019s Mendocino National Forest covers more than one million acres of land. <span class=\"credit\">Jeremy Francis \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The county\u2019s Hendy Woods State Park boasts massive redwoods, while the coast\u2019s unique Glass Beach is loaded with smooth and colorful sea glass pebbles.<\/p>\n<p>Several other California counties made the list, including Humboldt, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Kern counties. <\/p>\n<p>See full list below:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kern County, California<\/li>\n<li>Denver County, Colorado<\/li>\n<li>Bernalillo County, New Mexico<\/li>\n<li>Sacramento County, California<\/li>\n<li>Stanislaus County, California<\/li>\n<li>Washoe County, Nevada<\/li>\n<li>Santa Fe County, New Mexico<\/li>\n<li>Mendocino County, California<\/li>\n<li>Tuolumne County, California<\/li>\n<li>Humboldt County, California<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>California Post News<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCaliforniaPost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@CaliforniaPost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@thecaliforniapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WhatsApp<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><br \/><strong>California Post Sports<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capostsports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/capostsports\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@capostsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CaliforniaPostSports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/capostsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X<\/a><br \/><strong>California Post  <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Opinion<\/a> <br \/><strong>California Post Newsletters<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/email.nypost.com\/#california-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up here!<\/a><br \/><strong>California Post App<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download here!<\/a><br \/><strong>Home delivery<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.californiapost.com\/defaultCAP\">Sign up here!<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/><\/a><strong>Page Six Hollywood<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/hollywood-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A coastal NorCal county has cracked the list of \u201cBest Places to Retire in the West\u201d \u2014 along with several other California counties. The report, released by investing research platform The Motley Fool, ranked locations across the American West based on seven factors of retired life: healthcare, housing affordability, crime and safety, climate, state and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/Medocino-Alt.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}