Minneapolis is nation's third-best city for retirees, new study claims

Minnesotans might do well to retire in Minneapolis .

At least, that's what a new study from personal finance site WalletHub suggests. It ranked the best places to retire in the United States and placed Minneapolis third in the country. It's the only city in the top five that isn't in Florida.

The site built its ranking with an eye on affordable retirement that still allows for a high quality of life. It compared 182 U.S. cities in 45 categories that include cost of living, accessible activities, and health care quality.

Minneapolis ranked well in part because of what Wallethub calls an "elderly-friendly labor market" that offers a significant number of jobs "that are easy to perform even for elderly residents."

Furthermore, the city has a friendly environment for retirees. It's the 29th-most caring city in the country with the 6th-best hospital system, as well as a high number of nursing homes and gerontologists per capita. The study also notes that the city has good access to mental health services, with the third-lowest suicide rate for people ages 65 and older.

All of the details, like those above, were put into four primary categories to give a broader look at what each city has to offer. Those categories are affordability, activities, quality of life, and health care. Minneapolis ranks seventh in activities, sixth in health care, 79th in quality of life, and 93rd in affordability.

The only other Minnesota city that was part of the study was St. Paul , which ranked 31st. Other Upper Midwest cities in the ranking include Madison, Wis. (15th); Sioux Falls, SD (19th); Bismark, ND (26th); Rapid City, SD (33rd); Fargo, ND (53rd); Grand Rapids, Mich. (76th); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (79th); Milwaukee, Wis. (87th); Chicago, Ill. (96th); Des Moines, Iowa (104th); Aurora, Ill. (136th); and Detroit, Mich. (177th).

Earlier this year, the site ranked all 50 states on similar criteria for retirees, placing Minnesota at large as the eighth-best state for retirees.

Wallethub breaks down its methodology and dives into the categories more in the study .

Related: Forbes names Rochester as one of the best 25 cities to retire in