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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 2021.
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 12,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 36 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 2021
Why did Martinsville take the top spot? And where are Virginia Beach and Norfolk?
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 2021? The best place to retire in Virginia would be Martinsville 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 2021
/10
Population: 12,852
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Rent: $656
Distance to Closest Airport: 81 miles
More on Martinsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 24,432
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Rent: $861
Distance to Closest Airport: 102 miles
More on Staunton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 22,456
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Rent: $886
Distance to Closest Airport: 14 miles
More on Hopewell: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 12,090
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Rent: $1,222
Distance to Closest Airport: 10 miles
More on Poquoson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 41,070
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $682
Distance to Closest Airport: 59 miles
More on Danville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 27,897
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Rent: $1,054
Distance to Closest Airport: 41 miles
More on Winchester: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 52,994
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Median Rent: $1,624
Distance to Closest Airport: 12 miles
More on Leesburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 16,912
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 9)
Median Rent: $687
Distance to Closest Airport: 118 miles
More on Bristol: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 15,077
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $973
Distance to Closest Airport: 39 miles
More on Front Royal: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 22,140
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Rent: $821
Distance to Closest Airport: 94 miles
More on Waynesboro: Real Estate | Data | Photos
How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Old Dominion for 2021
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 12,000 people that weren't townships. This left us with 36 places from across the state.
For these 36, 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 36, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Martinsville, 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.
Maybe You're Not Ready To Retire In Virginia Yet...
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Virginia goes to Martinsville.
If you're not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley:
- Blacksburg
- Suffolk
- Chesapeake
For more Virginia reading, check out:
Where Are The Best Places To Retire In Virginia?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martinsville | 12,852 |
| 2 | Staunton | 24,432 |
| 3 | Hopewell | 22,456 |
| 4 | Poquoson | 12,090 |
| 5 | Danville | 41,070 |
| 6 | Winchester | 27,897 |
| 7 | Leesburg | 52,994 |
| 8 | Bristol | 16,912 |
| 9 | Front Royal | 15,077 |
| 10 | Waynesboro | 22,140 |
