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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 2022.
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 37 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 2022
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 2022? 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 2022
/10
Population: 12,646
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Rent: $664
Distance to Closest Airport: 81 miles
More on Martinsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 22,500
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $920
Distance to Closest Airport: 14 miles
More on Hopewell: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 12,121
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $1,383
Distance to Closest Airport: 10 miles
More on Poquoson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 40,668
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $688
Distance to Closest Airport: 59 miles
More on Danville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 24,660
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 3)
Median Rent: $864
Distance to Closest Airport: 102 miles
More on Staunton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 53,731
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $1,649
Distance to Closest Airport: 12 miles
More on Leesburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 15,034
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Median Rent: $1,153
Distance to Closest Airport: 15 miles
More on Williamsburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 27,912
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Rent: $1,096
Distance to Closest Airport: 41 miles
More on Winchester: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 25,290
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 6)
Median Rent: $926
Distance to Closest Airport: 119 miles
More on Salem: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 15,214
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $974
Distance to Closest Airport: 39 miles
More on Front Royal: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Old Dominion for 2022
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 37 places from across the state.
For these 37, 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 37, 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.
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 Martinsville.
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 | Martinsville | 12,646 |
| 2 | Hopewell | 22,500 |
| 3 | Poquoson | 12,121 |
| 4 | Danville | 40,668 |
| 5 | Staunton | 24,660 |
| 6 | Leesburg | 53,731 |
| 7 | Williamsburg | 15,034 |
| 8 | Winchester | 27,912 |
| 9 | Salem | 25,290 |
| 10 | Front Royal | 15,214 |