Article Table Of Contents
If your retirement requirements involve hiking through the Appalachian Mountains, soaking up the sun in Virginia Beach, and paying less in taxes, then Virginia is for you.
That's right. Virginia is not only for lovers, it's also for people looking to spend their retirement years in safe, affordable neighborhoods with tons of stuff to do. And lucky for you, HomeSnacks has created the ultimate guide for Virginia retirees: we've created a list of the top ten best places to retire in Old Dominion for 2023.
To determine Virginia's cream of the crop, we looked at several important factors like cost of living, crime, amenities, rent and distance to closest national airport for every place with over 10,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 38 cities and below is a list of Virginia's best.
The competition for Virginia's best place to retire was fierce. Heck, it's not lost on us that many of Virginia's best places to retire are also the state's safest places and some of the best places in Virginia to raise a family. And there must be something super special about Poquoson and Falls Church: they keep showing up on all of Virginia's best of the best lists and they keep crushing their competition.
Want to know the other places in Virginia where you can live the retirement dream? Keep reading.
The 10 Best Places To Retire In Virginia For 2023
Why did Warrenton take the top spot? And where are Virginia Beach and Chesapeake?
If you choose to live in one of Virginia's best places to retire, you could be strolling the Dan Daniel Memorial Park in Danville or rubbing elbows with Staunton's finest on the greens at The Club at Ironwood. And if you play your cards right, you could just become a permanent resident of Virginia's number one, best place to retire.
So, what's the best place to retire in Virginia for 2023? The best place to retire in Virginia would be Warrenton according to the most recent data.
To see how your favorite Virginia cities compared, take a look at the list below; and if you don't see it there, head to the bottom.
For more Virginia state reading:
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Virginia
- Best Places To Retire In America
The 10 Best Places To Retire In Virginia For 2023
/10
Population: 10,002
Rank Last Year: -
Median Rent: $1,404
Distance to Closest Airport: 24 miles
More on Warrenton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 13,476
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $685
Distance to Closest Airport: 81 miles
More on Martinsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 23,020
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $957
Distance to Closest Airport: 14 miles
More on Hopewell: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 12,382
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $1,475
Distance to Closest Airport: 10 miles
More on Poquoson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 25,358
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Rent: $897
Distance to Closest Airport: 102 miles
More on Staunton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 42,556
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Rent: $733
Distance to Closest Airport: 59 miles
More on Danville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 15,039
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Rent: $989
Distance to Closest Airport: 39 miles
More on Front Royal: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 14,494
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Rent: $2,020
Distance to Closest Airport: 15 miles
More on Falls Church: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 15,299
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Rent: $1,204
Distance to Closest Airport: 15 miles
More on Williamsburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 22,149
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Rent: $860
Distance to Closest Airport: 94 miles
More on Waynesboro: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Old Dominion for 2023
To create our list of the best places in Virginia to retire, we first used Census data to find all places in the Old Dominion -- 593 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 10,000 people that weren't townships. This left us with 38 places from across the state.
For these 38, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI's Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criteria from one to 38, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Warrenton, with the lowest average rank was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second careers. You can download the data here.
Summary: Maybe You're Not Ready To Retire In Virginia Yet...
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Virginia goes to Warrenton.
If you're not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley:
- Blacksburg
- Manassas
- Fredericksburg
For more Virginia reading, check out:
Where Are The Best Places To Retire In Virginia?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warrenton | 10,002 |
| 2 | Martinsville | 13,476 |
| 3 | Hopewell | 23,020 |
| 4 | Poquoson | 12,382 |
| 5 | Staunton | 25,358 |
| 6 | Danville | 42,556 |
| 7 | Front Royal | 15,039 |
| 8 | Falls Church | 14,494 |
| 9 | Williamsburg | 15,299 |
| 10 | Waynesboro | 22,149 |
