Between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton sits Coconut Creek, a leafy Broward County city that just ranked as Florida's top pick for upper middle-class retirees. In GoBankingRates' 2025 list of the 50 best retirement towns for that income bracket, it placed sixth overall — the highest of ten Florida towns to make the cut. It's aimed at retirees with real savings: living comfortably here takes an estimated annual income of $121,656, and nearly one in five residents is already 65 or older.
The city calls itself the Butterfly Capital of Florida, and the nickname holds up. Fern Forest Nature Center covers 247 acres of wetland and woodland along the old Cypress Creek Floodway, with boardwalk and unpaved trails (the boardwalk is wheelchair-accessible), an amphitheatre and picnic spots. It sits on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, home to more than 34 fern species and birds such as scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings and wood-warblers. Tradewinds Park & Stables, a 625-acre rec hub, adds volleyball, baseball, two disc golf courses, pony rides and a model steam train for visiting grandkids — plus Butterfly World, the largest butterfly aviary on the planet. The 57-acre Kristin Jacobs Natural Area at Hillsboro Pineland rounds things out with accessible trails through pine flatwoods and cypress, thick with saw palmetto, wax myrtle and beautyberry.
Daily life leans on two hubs. Promenade at Coconut Creek is an open-air shopping and dining district with Sephora, DSW, Warby Parker, boutique clothing stores, a cinema and a steady calendar of seasonal events. Food options run from The Cheesecake Factory to Greek at Ethos, hibachi and sushi at Saito's, and Cooper's Hawk, which pairs its restaurant with a winery, tasting room and retail market. For gaming nights, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek brings gambling and live shows.
Retirees wanting a ready-made community can look at Wynmoor Village, a 55-plus development with more than 5,000 condos, 19 pools, a dozen tennis courts and an 18-hole golf course. And when the beach calls, the Atlantic shore is only about 20 minutes away.
The honest catch: this is a driving city. Walk Score gives it a weak 25 out of 100 and public transit is thin, though free community shuttles link up with Broward County Transit. Budget for a car — and for that six-figure income — and Coconut Creek delivers an easy, green, amenity-rich version of Florida retirement without the price tag of the coast.
For anyone sizing up Florida retirement towns beyond the usual beach names, this inland spot is worth a scouting trip.
