Move over, The Villages: Jacksonville named to Forbes' list of best places to retire

Tom Szaroleta, Florida Times-Union
Updated ·2 min read
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Jacksonville is the only city in Florida to make Forbes' list of the 25 best places to retire in 2023.

The annual list looks at factors such as median home price, crime rate, taxes, air quality, access to healthcare, weather and natural disaster risks. It lists 25 cities in 20 states, but they are not ranked.

Jacksonville, which also made the 2022 list, got good marks for its median home price of $295,000, which is 22 percent below the national average. The list also cited the area's good air quality, abundance of parks and high ratio of physicians per capita. Florida's lack of a state income tax also weighed in the city's favor. The list also called Jacksonville "unusually safe for coastal Florida" in terms of hurricane threat.

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Jacksonville was the only city in Florida to make Forbes' list of best retirement spots.
Jacksonville was the only city in Florida to make Forbes' list of best retirement spots.

"Hurricanes are a big reason why retiree magnet Florida only has one pick (Jacksonville) on our list," the report states.

Negative factors cited were the city's above-average crime rate and the fact that the city is not very walkable.

Excluded from this year's Forbes list was The Villages, the central Florida retirement community that made the previous two lists. The Villages was dropped from the list because of its rising median home price, which is $416,000.

Best places to retire in 2023

This year's list from Forbes, in alphabetical order:

  • Athens, Ga.

  • Augusta, Ga.

  • Bethlehem, Penn.

  • Charlotte, N.C.

  • Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Columbia, Mo.

  • Fargo, N.D.

  • Green Valley, Ariz.

  • Greenville, S.C.

  • Indianapolis, Ind.

  • Iowa City, Iowa

  • Jacksonville, Fla.

  • Lawrence, Kan.

  • Lexington, Ky.

  • Lincoln, Neb.

  • Pittsburgh, Penn.

  • Pittsfield, Mass.

  • Rochester, Minn.

  • San Antonio, Texas

  • Savannah, Ga.

  • Sioux Falls, S.D.

  • Spokane, Wash.

  • Sun City, Ariz.

  • Virginia Beach, Va.

  • Winchester, Va.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville, Florida among Forbes' best places to retire in 2023