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Lake Forest, Illinois, is identified as the Midwest’s richest retirement town in recent GOBankingRates rankings covered in 2025 and 2026. “Richest” is a ranking label based on selected population and income measures—not a claim that the town is affordable or the right fit for every retiree.
Why Lake Forest tops the ranking
GOBankingRates’ March 18, 2025 article ranks qualifying Midwestern cities by median household income. It included places with populations above 15,000 where at least 25% of residents were 65 or older. The article says its city data came from the American Community Survey and were collected through February 4, 2025. GOBankingRates’ 2025 ranking
Travel + Leisure’s March 23, 2026 coverage also identifies Lake Forest as the top town, using a population threshold of 15,000 and requiring at least 25% of residents to be 65 or older. Its coverage reports a different set of figures and includes average retirement income and a livability score. Travel + Leisure’s 2026 coverage
What the published figures say
The figures differ by publication and edition, so they should not be treated as a verified year-over-year change:
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- 2025: GOBankingRates reported median household income of $228,120 and an age-65-or-older share of 25.8%. Its article says the underlying data were collected through February 4, 2025. Source: GOBankingRates
- 2026: Travel + Leisure reported median household income of $235,081, an age-65-or-older share of 26.7%, average retirement income of $61,485, and a livability score of 67 out of 100. The coverage does not provide enough detail about how the score is constructed to treat it as a complete measure of retirement suitability. Source: Travel + Leisure
MoneyLion describes its 2026 list as based on an existing richest-retirement-towns study and says it considered median household income and households receiving retirement income alongside its population and age-share filters. That description is a separate account of the methodology, not a basis for combining the figures from different publications into one dataset. MoneyLion’s 2026 list
What “richest” does—and does not—tell retirees
A townwide median household income describes households in the qualifying place; it does not show what a particular retiree earns, owns, or can afford. Nor does the ranking establish that Lake Forest has the lowest costs or is the most practical retirement destination.
Travel + Leisure describes Lake Forest as a historic suburb on Lake Michigan’s north shore, about 30 miles north of Chicago, with historic estates, protected open space, and community events. Those features offer context, but a ranking and a town description cannot determine whether a home, local taxes, healthcare access, and ongoing expenses fit an individual budget and care needs. Travel + Leisure’s town coverage
Quick Recap
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How to use the ranking in a retirement decision
- Use the town name as a starting point. The cited coverage names Lake Forest, Illinois; it does not confer an official designation or guarantee a particular retiree’s financial security.
- Keep each statistic attached to its source and edition. The 2025 and 2026 coverage reports different income and age-share figures, and the available accounts do not verify that they use comparable underlying data vintages.
- Check the costs that affect your own plan. Compare current housing costs, property taxes, healthcare access, and recurring expenses with your budget before treating the ranking as a reason to move. The cited coverage does not provide a complete, comparable cost analysis against other retirement towns.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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