The exact five categories, how they sum to a 0-100 score, all six ranked destinations with their category breakdown, data sourcing, and what the score is not.
The short version: six major retirement destinations are rated 0-20 on five categories -- cost of living, healthcare access, expat community, climate and visa/immigration access -- summed to a 0-100 BAANLYY Retirement Score. No category is secretly weighted more than another.
Each category is rated 0-20 for every destination covered.
| Category | Scale | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 0-20 | Comfortable monthly budget for a retiree — housing, food, utilities and daily expenses relative to the other five destinations |
| Healthcare access | 0-20 | Density and quality of nearby hospitals, including JCI-accredited facilities (see the JCI Hospitals Directory), and general medical infrastructure |
| Expat community | 0-20 | Size and maturity of the existing retiree/expat community — social infrastructure, clubs, English-speaking services and peer support |
| Climate | 0-20 | Year-round comfort — temperature, humidity and rainfall patterns relevant to an older resident living there full-time |
| Visa/immigration access | 0-20 | How practiced the local immigration office is with retirement-visa applicants, plus proximity to visa-agent and administrative infrastructure |
Overall score = cost of living + healthcare access + expat community + climate + visa/immigration access, each scored 0-20, producing a 0-100 BAANLYY Retirement Score directly (unlike the Area Score, this is a straight sum, not an averaged-then-multiplied figure, since five categories at 20 points each already total 100). All five categories carry equal maximum weight -- there is no hidden multiplier favoring, say, healthcare over cost of living. If your own priorities differ from an equal-weight sum, use the per-category columns below to build your own weighted view rather than relying on the single overall number.
| Rank | Destination | Cost | Healthcare | Expat community | Climate | Visa access | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiang Mai | 17 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 88/100 |
| 2 | Pattaya | 15 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 18 | 81/100 |
| 3 | Hua Hin | 16 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 78/100 |
| 4 | Phuket | 10 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 71/100 |
| 4 | Udon Thani | 20 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 71/100 |
| 6 | Bangkok | 9 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 67/100 |
Full verdicts, worked cost-of-living tables and visa-route detail for each destination are in the Retirement Destinations Report →
Each category score is built from named, verifiable sources rather than a single third-party index: healthcare access draws on BAANLYY's own JCI-Accredited Hospitals Directory (individually verified per facility), visa/immigration access reflects the Immigration Bureau's official retirement-visa requirements (O-A, O-X and the LTR Wealthy Pensioner visa) and each office's practical experience with retiree applicants, and cost-of-living, expat-community and climate assessments combine official statistics with cross-checked third-party market and demographic reporting. Full citations are in the Retirement Destinations Report and in the Sources section below.
Open the full Retirement Destinations Report for cost tables, visa routes and destination verdicts, or talk to a vetted local agent.
The BAANLYY Retirement Score is a proprietary, transparent composite of five researched categories, provided for general comparison only -- not investment, legal, tax, immigration or financial advice. Category ratings are editorial assessments that change as underlying conditions evolve.
Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.