4 Best Towns Near Raleigh For Retirees
Four communities just outside Raleigh make a strong case for retirees seeking a quiet place to live. Sanford and Smithfield bring affordable housing and small-college energy. Oxford runs an annual hot-sauce festival that turns the downtown into a two-day party. Wilson holds the largest collection of Vollis Simpson's whirligigs in the world. Each sits within a two-hour drive of North Carolina's state capital and runs its own acute-care hospital.
Sanford
Sanford, the seat of Lee County, is home to just over 32,000 residents and sits about a 40-minute drive south of Raleigh. Housing is affordable here, with property values averaging around $290,000, well below the state average of about $337,000. It also scores on the healthcare front, with Central Carolina Hospital, the town's acute care facility, offering cardiology, orthopedics, and 24-hour emergency care.
A strong sense of community pervades the town, something that's reflected in the cultural scene. The historic Temple Theatre is a shining example. Opened in 1925 in downtown Sanford, the theatre runs a live theater season that spans September through May, along with educational programming for locals of all ages.
Depot Park is the community's outdoor hub. Centered around the restored Sanford Depot, it has an interactive splash fountain for the kids and a popular (and free) summer concert series called Downtown Alive. The Lee County Regional Fair is also a staple each September.
To get a little closer to nature, San-Lee Park, on the eastern edge of town, has four miles of hiking trails around two lakes, plus a 12-mile mountain bike route. There's also a nature center that houses native, non-releasable wildlife. Golfers are well catered to in the Sanford area too. Tobacco Road Golf Club, an 18-hole course just outside town, regularly ranks among the top public courses in the state.
Smithfield
Just 30 minutes southeast of the capital, Smithfield is home to around 13,000 people. The seat of Johnston County, it was chartered in the 1770s and sits on the banks of the Neuse River. It's also one of the more affordable places to live near Raleigh, with home prices hovering around the $290,000 mark.
A move to Smithfield places retirees in good company too, as 20 percent of residents are aged 65 and over. Healthcare needs are met by UNC Health Johnston, an acute care hospital that is part of the UNC Health network of hospitals across the region.
Cultural attractions are plentiful, with the Ava Gardner Museum topping the bill. The famous Hollywood star was born and raised in nearby Grabtown, and the museum's permanent exhibits cover her five-decade film career and personal life, including her time in North Carolina. The town also celebrates the star's legacy with the Ava Gardner Festival each October.
A stroll through Smithfield's downtown historic district is a great way to get some gentle exercise. It is also home to landmark structures, such as the Johnston County Heritage Center. Housed in the former 1913 Bank of Smithfield building, the center preserves the town's history through its archives and exhibits, and it is also a great place to volunteer.
The Buffalo Creek Greenway is another good option for a little exercise. This wide, level trail follows the Spring Branch of the Neuse River (one of the state's longest rivers) and connects to the downtown, the Town Commons, and Smithfield Community Park. The greenway is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a 1,175-mile route that crosses the state and links the Great Smoky Mountains with the Outer Banks.
Oxford
The smallest town on this list, with a population of nearly 9,000, Oxford sits about a 45-minute drive north of Raleigh. The seat of Granville County since 1764, it scores well on affordability, with average home values around $250,000, well below the state average. When (and if) needed, general healthcare and emergency services are available through the Granville Medical Center.
Oxford is also a state-designated Main Street Community, a North Carolina program that supports the revitalization of historic downtowns. Here, you will find the Granville County Museum, with exhibits on local history from the Tuscarora War of 1711 through the area's prosperous tobacco-growing era.
Downtown Oxford is also known for its "open carry" liquor laws, with a designated Social District that permits public drinking at certain times when beverages are purchased from participating retailers. The Oxford Farmers Market is another great reason to linger downtown (Saturdays from May through November), as is the Downtown Oxford Sculpture Trail with outdoor artworks by North Carolina artists.
The big event on the town's social calendar is the NC Hot Sauce Contest & Festival. Held the second weekend in September, with Saturday formally recognized by the state as "North Carolina Hot Sauce Day," this fun event turns the downtown into a two-day party. Visitors arrive from across the Southeast for sauce-judging events, pepper-eating contests, live music, and food trucks.
For active retirees, there's plenty to do in the great outdoors. Just 20 minutes east of town, Kerr Lake State Recreation Area runs along the shoreline of a 50,000-acre reservoir created by the damming of the Roanoke River. One of the best fishing lakes in the region, catches include striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, and catfish. Other highlights include seven campgrounds, several beaches, and an accessible fishing pier.
Wilson
Located an hour east of Raleigh, there are plenty of reasons to consider Wilson as a place to retire. Home to a little over 48,000 residents, its former importance as a tobacco town is evident in the surviving 19th-century red-brick warehouses, which now house breweries, loft apartments, and cultural venues.
On the practical side, most healthcare services are provided by Wilson Medical Center, a large acute-care hospital with 24/7 emergency services, a cardiovascular center, and a cancer treatment program. For senior living in Wilson, Parkwood Village and The Landing offer independent living, assisted living, and memory care, while Wilson Pines Nursing & Rehabilitation Center provides skilled nursing care. Those preferring a home of their own can expect to find properties averaging around $215,000.
On the cultural side, a visit to Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park is a must. The two-acre downtown sculpture park holds the largest collection of Vollis Simpson's whirligigs in the world, the towering kinetic wind sculptures created by their namesake during his retirement on a Wilson County farm. Built from scrap metal, some of these pieces reach heights of around 50 feet, and the whirligigs were designated North Carolina's official state folk art in 2013. Every November, the park hosts the NC Whirligig Festival, a two-day celebration of the arts complete with food vendors and music.
Other attractions (most of which offer volunteer opportunities) include the Imagination Station Science Museum, the North Carolina Museum of the Coastal Plain (a regional history museum), and the Wilson Botanical Gardens.
Retiring Near Raleigh
Their combination of affordable housing, top-notch healthcare services, and proximity to Raleigh makes Sanford, Smithfield, Oxford, and Wilson stand out as great places to retire. All of them feature below-average North Carolina home prices, have their own acute-care hospital, and offer plenty of fun things to do. Add to that the fact that North Carolina offers 65-plussers a property tax homestead exclusion, and any of these four communities make a lot of sense as places to retire near Raleigh.
