These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Georgia For 2018

When most people think of calling it quits on a career, they immediately think of a move to Florida.

But not everyone wants to spend their golden years in Florida; some of us want to stay close to friends and family and within the great state of Georgia.

But where exactly in Georgia? Well, there’s only one place to go for the answer — data.

To that end, we have tried to identify the places in Georgia that are safe, affordable, and have plenty of things to keep you busy well into retirement.

What did we find after pouring through all the data? Let’s just say we hope folks in Decatur don’t mind us spreading the word.

Here are our top ten places in the Peach State to retire for 2018:

1. Decatur (Photos | Homes For Sale)
2. Marietta (Photos | Homes For Sale)
3. Fayetteville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
4. Lawrenceville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
5. Jesup (Photos | Homes For Sale)
6. Bainbridge (Photos | Homes For Sale)
7. Thomasville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
8. Waycross (Photos | Homes For Sale)
9. Newnan (Photos | Homes For Sale)
10. Powder Springs (Photos | Homes For Sale)

Why did Decatur take the top spot? And where are Atlanta and Columbus?

Read on to see see all the golden parachute level details. Or check out the purely worst and best places to live in Georgia.

How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Peach State

To create our list of the best places in Georgia to retire, we first used Census data to find all places in the Peach State with a population of at least 5,000 that aren’t townships.

This left us with 71 places from across the state.

For these 71, 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 71, with the lowest number being the best.

Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Decatur, with the lowest average rank was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second careers.

1. Decatur

Population: 21,210
Median Rent: $894
Distance to Closest Airport: 11 miles
Crime Per 100k: 2,668
More on Decatur: Homes For Sale | Data
Decatur was established at the intersection of two Native American trails: the Sandtown, which led east from the Chattahoochee River at Utoy Creek, and the Shallowford, which follows today’s Clairmont Road, and eventually crossed near Roswell. It was named for United States Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur.

2. Marietta

Population: 59,714
Median Rent: $936
Distance to Closest Airport: 22 miles
Crime Per 100k: 4,211
More on Marietta: Homes For Sale | Data
The origin of the name is uncertain. It is believed that the city was named for Mary Cobb, the wife of U.S. Senator and Superior Court judge Thomas Willis Cobb. Judge Cobb is the namesake of the county.

3. Fayetteville

Population: 16,780
Median Rent: $1,064
Distance to Closest Airport: 13 miles
Crime Per 100k: 3,247
More on Fayetteville: Homes For Sale | Data
Fayetteville was founded in 1822 as the seat of the newly formed Fayette County, organized by European Americans from territory ceded by force the Creek people under a treaty with the United States during the early period of Indian removal from the Southeast. Both city and county were named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero the French Marquis de Lafayette. Fayetteville was incorporated as a town in 1823 and as a city in 1909.

4. Lawrenceville

Population: 30,127
Median Rent: $896
Distance to Closest Airport: 33 miles
Crime Per 100k: 3,548
More on Lawrenceville: Homes For Sale | Data
Lawrenceville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 15, 1821. This makes Lawrenceville the second oldest city in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The city is named after Commodore James Lawrence, commander of the frigate Chesapeake during the War of 1812. Lawrence, a native of New Jersey, is probably best known today for his dying command, ‘Don’t give up the ship!’ William Maltbie, the town’s first postmaster, suggested the name of ‘Lawrenceville’.

5. Jesup

Population: 10,145
Median Rent: $560
Distance to Closest Airport: 54 miles
Crime Per 100k: 6,830
More on Jesup: Homes For Sale | Data
Jesup was founded in 1870 as a depot at the junction of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad and the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. The area was then part of Appling County, Georgia. On August 27, 1872, eastern sections of Appling land districts 3 and 4 were added to Wayne County. In 1873, the seat of Wayne County was transferred to Jesup from Waynesville.

6. Bainbridge

Population: 12,492
Median Rent: $593
Distance to Closest Airport: 81 miles
Crime Per 100k: 4,154
More on Bainbridge: Homes For Sale | Data
The town was named after U.S. Navy Commodore William Bainbridge, commander of the USS Constitution (‘Old Ironsides’), and was incorporated on December 22, 1829.

7. Thomasville

Population: 18,706
Median Rent: $731
Distance to Closest Airport: 110 miles
Crime Per 100k: 5,426
More on Thomasville: Homes For Sale | Data
Thomasville was founded in 1825 as seat of the newly formed Thomas County. It was incorporated as a town in 1831 and as a city in 1889. The community was named for Jett Thomas, a general in the War of 1812.

8. Waycross

Population: 14,188
Median Rent: $610
Distance to Closest Airport: 63 miles
Crime Per 100k: 7,492
More on Waycross: Homes For Sale | Data
The area now known as Waycross was first settled circa 1820, locally known as ‘Old Nine’ or ‘Number Nine’ and then Pendleton. It was renamed Tebeauville in 1857, incorporated under that name in 1866, and designated county seat of Ware County in 1873. It was incorporated as ‘Way Cross’ on March 3, 1874. Waycross gets its name from the city?s location at key railroad junctions; lines from six directions meet at the city.

9. Newnan

Population: 35,642
Median Rent: $940
Distance to Closest Airport: 26 miles
Crime Per 100k: 3,425
More on Newnan: Homes For Sale | Data
Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta County (replacing the defunct town of Bullsboro) in 1828 and was named for North Carolinian General Daniel Newnan. It quickly became a prosperous magnet for lawyers, doctors, other professionals, and merchants. Much of Newnan’s prosperity was due to its thriving cotton industry, which relied on slavery.

10. Powder Springs

Population: 14,596
Median Rent: $1,081
Distance to Closest Airport: 21 miles
Crime Per 100k: 2,192
More on Powder Springs: Homes For Sale | Data
The town of Powder Springs was incorporated as Springville in 1838 in the lands of two Cherokee Indian leaders. Gold had been discovered in Georgia ten years earlier, and the first European-American settlers came to find gold. The settlers found little gold in the mines at Lost Mountain and off Brownsville Road. It was at about this time that the Cherokee people were forced off their land and removed to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River on the Trail of Tears.

Maybe You’re Not Ready To Retire Yet…

So there you have it, the best place to retire in Georgia goes to Decatur.

If you’re not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley:

• Monroe
• Hinesville
• Cordele

For more Georgia reading , check out:

• 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Georgia
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Georgia
• 10 Most Dangerous Places In Georgia

Detailed List Of Best Places To Retire In Georgia

City	Rank	Population	Median Rent	Distane To Airport	Crimes per 100k
Decatur	1	21,210	$894	11	2,668
Marietta	2	59,714	$936	22	4,211
Fayetteville	3	16,780	$1064	13	3,247
Lawrenceville	4	30,127	$896	33	3,548
Jesup	5	10,145	$560	54	6,830
Bainbridge	6	12,492	$593	81	4,154
Thomasville	7	18,706	$731	110	5,426
Waycross	8	14,188	$610	63	7,492
Newnan	9	35,642	$940	26	3,425
Powder Springs	10	14,596	$1081	21	2,192
Rome	11	36,340	$658	61	4,419
Brunswick	12	15,997	$699	46	5,869
Pooler	13	22,131	$1159	3	3,393
Roswell	14	93,968	$1096	28	1,963
Vidalia	15	10,674	$549	70	6,164
Smyrna	16	54,788	$997	16	3,185
Canton	17	25,022	$880	42	2,617
Kennesaw	18	32,669	$1121	29	2,060
Johns Creek	19	82,930	$1370	30	860
Lilburn	20	12,481	$931	24	4,190
Sandy Springs	21	102,212	$1083	20	2,890
Conyers	22	15,682	$876	25	5,197
Duluth	23	28,681	$1111	29	2,792
Covington	24	13,667	$794	33	6,629
Griffin	25	22,875	$788	28	7,051
Milton	26	36,755	$1234	35	946
Alpharetta	27	63,013	$1222	31	2,131
Clarkston	28	12,594	$859	16	4,319
Atlanta	29	456,378	$998	8	6,557
Dallas	30	12,622	$905	30	1,655
Carrollton	31	25,960	$758	37	4,830
Kingsland	32	16,411	$886	25	2,565
Dalton	33	33,653	$647	84	3,613
Riverdale	34	15,812	$807	5	5,862
Loganville	35	11,072	$1042	33	3,377
Mcdonough	36	23,086	$1021	20	3,279
Snellville	37	19,395	$1156	28	4,315
Acworth	38	21,824	$1037	32	2,808
East Point	39	35,477	$924	3	11,599
Gainesville	40	37,906	$824	56	4,133
Statesboro	41	30,597	$742	39	4,196
Winder	42	15,148	$861	47	4,931
Brookhaven	43	51,567	$1205	17	3,096
Milledgeville	44	19,146	$683	78	4,627
Richmond Hill	45	11,501	$1119	14	2,147
Forest Park	46	19,156	$823	4	6,405
Dublin	47	16,189	$540	104	6,504
Dunwoody	48	48,128	$1248	22	4,456
Moultrie	49	14,457	$620	130	7,539
Calhoun	50	16,139	$632	65	4,225
Columbus	51	200,303	$844	81	5,413
College Park	52	14,434	$778	1	11,666
Woodstock	53	27,964	$1226	32	2,313
Villa Rica	54	14,755	$917	28	4,276
Albany	55	75,657	$687	129	5,938
Tifton	56	16,691	$584	127	6,530
Norcross	57	16,293	$954	24	4,161
Suwanee	58	18,001	$1383	35	3,766
Holly Springs	59	10,351	$1115	36	2,222
Douglasville	60	32,317	$969	17	7,197
Fairburn	61	13,860	$1045	11	5,541
Lagrange	62	30,535	$789	54	5,845
Americus	63	16,185	$639	108	7,964
Chamblee	64	27,862	$1014	19	5,742
Valdosta	65	56,717	$732	97	5,751
Warner Robins	66	73,265	$862	84	6,285
Grovetown	67	12,848	$1033	108	1,486
Doraville	68	10,348	$962	21	6,010
Cordele	69	11,015	$600	122	5,047
Hinesville	70	34,127	$940	32	4,298
Monroe	71	13,253	$775	42	7,221