As you near
retirement age, you might dream of a quiet life in a small town. The kind of place where you can relax on your porch or find that a run-in with your neighbors in the town square becomes a late-night catching up. However, all small towns aren’t created equal.Some small towns are better suited for retirees for many reasons, from lower cost of living to
reduced crime rates and higher ratings for overall livability.To give you valuable insights into which small towns might be the best for you, GOBankingRates analyzed median incomes, cost of living, livability and crime rates to determine the 44 best small towns where you can set up your home sweet home
after you retire.Maplewood, MO
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 55.80
Trending Now:Suze Orman's Secret to a Wealthy Retirement--Have You Made This Money Move?Sharpsburg, PA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 9.68
Brentwood, PA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 7.43
Alamo Heights, TX
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 33.86
Riverdale, UT
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 50.27
Lindale, TX
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.97
Coraopolis, PA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 12.95
Grand Blanc, MI
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 9.912
Richmond Heights, MO
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 72.47
Hillsborough, NC
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 61.24
Fort Mitchell, KY
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 8.677
Camp Hill, PA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 9.386
Waukesha, WI
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 8.925
Northville, MI
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 6.455
Brentwood, MO
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 52.33
Roanoke, TX
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 13.86
Wolfforth, TX
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 5.862
King City, OR
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 9.716
Plymouth, MI
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 11.11
Roeland Park, KS
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 42.88
Stone Mountain, GA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 25.37
Newmarket, NH
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 5.840
New Milford, CT
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 6.795
Hatboro, PA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 7.170
Philomath, OR
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 11.73
West Dundee, IL
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 11.73
Freeport, ME
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 12.15
Winooski, VT
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 45.10
Andover, MA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 6.169
Whitefish, MT
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 21.43
Plantation, FL
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 27.69
Raritan, NJ
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 7.729
Sharon, MA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 3.126
Dumfries, VA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 19.08
Neptune Beach, FL
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 13.19
West Miami, FL
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 12.58
Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 7.795
Hopkinton, MA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 4.014
Capitola, CA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 34.05
El Cerrito, CA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 44.71
Duvall, WA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 6.151
Hingham, MA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 6.368
Mountain View, CA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 32.37
Kensington, CA
Total Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 21.87
Jami Farkas contributed to the reporting for this story.Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed small towns across the country to find the best small towns to retire. GOBankingRates started by finding all the towns with a population between 1,000 and 10,000 residents as sourced from the US Census American Community Survey, along with the total households and median household income. The average rental cost was found as sourced from Zillow Observed Rental Index. The cost of living indexes were found for each city as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces. Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for Retired Residents, the average expenditure cost can be calculated for each expenditure for each city. The expenditure cost was added to the rental cost to find the monthly total cost of living. Using the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer the number of reported crimes for each city can be found and using the population the crime rate per 1,000 residents can be calculated. The livability index was found from AreaVibes and all cities with a livability below 80 were removed as they have lower than ideal quality of life. All cities with data missing from any source were removed and the remaining 200 cities were scored. The household median income was scored and weighted at 1.00, the expenditure cost was scored and weighted at 1.25, the rent cost was scored and weighted at 1.25, the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00, and the crime rate was scored and weighted at 1.00. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the best small town to retire in America. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of May 17, 2024.
