While other states pile on new levies and expand government programs to court residents, Florida’s tax-friendly approach just earned Tampa another national accolade: the city ranked third among the best places in America to retire, according to a new WalletHub study, trailing only Orlando and Miami.

The results offer a data point worth noting in the broader debate over what actually makes a city livable — and it isn’t heavier regulation or bigger budgets.

WalletHub’s analysts compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 45 metrics, from cost of living and tax burden to health care quality and available recreation. The formula that pushed Tampa near the top wasn’t a taxpayer-funded amenity program — it was the absence of taxation. Tampa ranked as one of the most tax-friendly cities in the country, with no estate or inheritance tax to erode a retiree’s savings after a lifetime of work.

“It’s important to choose wisely when picking where to retire, as many retirees are on a fixed income,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so.”

That’s a notable admission from an independent analyst: the cities winning this competition aren’t the ones spending the most on retiree services. They’re the ones getting out of retirees’ way and letting them keep more of what they’ve earned.

Public safety factored in too. Tampa posted the 19th-lowest property crime rate among the cities studied — evidence, supporters of law-and-order policies would argue, that basic government functions like policing still matter more to quality of life than expansive social programs. The city also ranked fifth-best in the nation for recreation and, in a lighter footnote, claimed the ninth-most bingo halls per capita of any city studied.

Tampa’s showing continues a pattern for Florida cities generally, which have repeatedly dominated WalletHub’s retiree rankings in recent years—a track record that closely mirrors the state’s decision to forgo a personal income tax altogether, a policy some critics elsewhere have long dismissed as unsustainable.

For the full ranking and WalletHub’s methodology, readers can consult the study directly.

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