4 Best Towns Near San Francisco For Retirees

Retiring in San Francisco proper is a financial non-starter for most people, with median home prices clearing $1.3 million. The four towns below all sit within an hour of the city and cost a fraction of that. Benicia has a walkable waterfront downtown and a hospital ten minutes away. Martinez has John Muir hiking trails, bocce courts, and home prices in the high $700,000s. Suisun City puts Sacramento and the East Bay within Amtrak reach for around $550,000 a home. Rio Vista is the smallest and most rural, with nearly half its population already 65 or older.

Benicia

Benicia sits 35 miles northeast of San Francisco on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait. It is one of California's oldest communities, founded in 1847, and a strong option for retirees who want water views and a walkable downtown without the Bay Area price tag. With about 26,500 residents and 2026 median sale prices in the low $800,000s, it runs at a fraction of San Francisco proper.

The town's main historical draw is Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, the only surviving pre-Sacramento state capitol building. Benicia served as California's third capital for one year from February 1853 to February 1854, and the carefully restored Greek Revival building covers that period with reconstructed period furnishings, exhibits, and several original Benicia-era Senate desks. Right next door, Fischer-Hanlon House is a Gold Rush-era hotel converted to a private residence in 1858 and now open for weekend tours. For local history, the Museum of History Benicia occupies four sandstone buildings from the 1850s in the historic Benicia Arsenal district, and tells the story of the US Army's short-lived 1850s experiment using camels as pack animals.

Benicia State Recreation Area runs 2.5 miles of road and bike paths along the Carquinez Strait for walkers, cyclists, runners, equestrians, and roller skaters. The town is also part of the 50-mile Carquinez Strait Scenic Loop, a longstanding Bay Area route for hiking or biking. On the practical side, Sutter Solano Medical Center, an acute care hospital with 24-hour emergency services and a cancer center, is just 10 miles away in nearby Vallejo. Larger facilities in neighboring Walnut Creek and Concord are within reach for specialty care.

Martinez

Across the Strait, opposite Benicia, Martinez is 30 miles northeast of San Francisco and packs a lot of history into a town of about 37,000. It was the birthplace of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, the longtime home of conservationist John Muir, and one of the locations tied to the martini's disputed origin story through the local "Martinez Special" legend.

Home prices in Martinez are generally comparable to Benicia, with many properties falling in the high-$700,000s to low-$800,000s depending on the neighborhood and property type. Mid-century single-family homes are available within walking distance of the historic town center and the John Muir National Historic Site, the Victorian Italianate mansion where Muir lived from 1890 until his death in 1914. The site's Mount Wanda, named after Muir's eldest daughter, offers roughly 1 to 2.5 miles of moderate-to-strenuous round-trip hiking through oak woods and grasslands. Volunteer opportunities for retirees include helping with the John Muir Birthday and Earth Day Celebration each April.

The Ted and Kathy Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline runs nearly three miles of trails, a fishing pier, the large Martinez Marina, and an equestrian arena. The area is also home to the Joe DiMaggio Ballfields and is a busy outdoor spot for leisure sports including bocce ball, a holdover from the town's Sicilian fishing community, plus horseshoes. For healthcare, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez is the county's full-service public hospital with a 24-hour emergency department, while John Muir Health's Walnut Creek Medical Center is also within reach for more specialized care.

Suisun City

Suisun City sits about an hour from both San Francisco and Sacramento. Its median house price runs around $550,000, substantially lower than most other Bay Area towns, despite plenty of desirable features: a walkable waterfront, a Capitol Corridor Amtrak station with direct rail service toward Sacramento and the East Bay, and easy access to Interstate 80. Healthcare is another perk. NorthBay Medical Center, an acute care hospital with a 24-hour emergency department, also has a trauma center and a primary stroke center, all in neighboring Fairfield.

The Suisun City Waterfront District handles most of the social calendar. Centered around the Suisun City Marina, the town's best restaurants, shopping, and the train depot all sit within a few walkable blocks. Visible waterfront events include concerts, car shows, Christmas on the Waterfront, and Suisun City Waterfront Restaurant Week.

For nature, the Suisun Marsh is the largest contiguous brackish-water marsh on the West Coast of North America, and a major stopover for migrating birds along the Pacific Flyway. Grizzly Waters Kayaking offers rentals and guided trips out of the marina for retirees wanting to explore these protected, calm waters.

Rio Vista

Of the four towns on this list, Rio Vista is the smallest and most rural. Located on the Sacramento River, an hour northeast of San Francisco on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Rio Vista has just over 10,000 residents, and nearly half are 65 or older. Several adult communities have been developed to handle the demand. Trilogy at Rio Vista is a gated 55-plus development that runs an 18-hole golf course, two large clubhouses, an Olympic-size indoor pool, tennis and bocce courts, and an on-site restaurant and cafe.

For healthcare, NorthBay Health's Main Street location in Rio Vista provides primary care and walk-in urgent care, while NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield handles 24-hour emergency, Level II trauma, and primary stroke care about 30 minutes west. The Rio Vista Museum showcases the delta region's history with photographs, old farm equipment, and artifacts from the town's days as a steamer stop on the San Francisco-to-Sacramento route. It is also a strong volunteer option. For outdoor pursuits, Sandy Beach County Park just south of town runs year-round with campsites, picnic grounds, a sand beach, and a 24-hour boat launch, though swimming is not allowed because of strong currents and sudden drop-offs.

Four Strong Retirement Towns Near San Francisco

For retirees who want to be close to the Bay Area without the eye-watering cost of San Francisco real estate, these four alternatives are worth a closer look. Benicia and Martinez run historic downtowns and working waterfronts. Suisun City delivers a comparatively affordable median home price and a Capitol Corridor Amtrak station that puts Sacramento and the East Bay within easy reach. Rio Vista makes its case through purpose-built active-adult communities and a delta location that runs at its own pace. The right choice comes down to the kind of retirement you're looking for.