According to a new ranking of the safest places to retire in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, which looked at over 850 cities across the country and compared them using factors like FBI crime data, the safest city for retirement in the entire country is actually a suburb of Washington, D.C., just over a half-hour away!
So, if safety is your biggest concern when it comes to your retirement plans, then it doesn’t get any safer than the suburb of Centreville, Virginia!
What is the safest city to retire in the United States?
As stated above, the #1 safest city for retirement in the nation is none other than Centreville, a small suburb around 35 minutes from the District, located in Fairfax County, which just so happens to be the #8 safest county in the country.
When the study examined each city’s murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people, Centreville was measured to be the safest city in the nation out of all 859 cities in the study.
Is Centreville a good place to retire?
Despite being the #1 safest place to retire in the nation, Centreville actually ranked #283 when it came to the best places to retire overall.
So, unfortunately, if you value more than just simple safety, Centreville may not actually be the best place in the United States to plan your retirement.
Here are some of the statistics around Centreville that the study found, and how they break down:
- Average housing cost – $599,673
- Median rent – $2,006
- Population – 71,219 people
- Median age – 37.1
- Median household income – $146284
In short, the average cost of living in Centreville is considered higher than the national average, the age distribution of the city shows just 12% of the local population to be over the age of 65, and the town’s high dependency on car travel compared to public transit options or ‘walkability’ means that the town will be difficult to navigate as you age.