8 Best Towns In The Southern United States For Retirees
The math on retiring in the South keeps getting easier. New Census Bureau estimates released in June 2026 show the region was the only one in the country to add population in every age group between 2020 and 2025. Its retirement-age population led that growth by a wide margin. The pull is not complicated, and it comes down to warm weather, low or no state income tax, and housing that still costs less than the coasts. The eight towns below each give a retiree a specific reason to unpack the car. Here is what you get for the money in each.
Berlin, Maryland
Berlin is a slow-paced town of about 5,000 near the Maryland coast, and the typical home runs around $439,000, close to the state average. That buys you a walkable downtown of restored storefronts and a short drive to the water. Assateague State Park is under nine miles out, Maryland's only oceanfront state park, with two miles of beach for swimming and fishing and a herd of wild horses that will happily investigate your campsite. Ocean City and its ten miles of beach are about fifteen minutes away. Closer in, Stephen Decatur Park has the tennis courts and nature trail, and Glen Riddle Golf Club runs two 18-hole courses just outside town. Health care is covered by TidalHealth Atlantic Hospital, one of the higher-rated hospitals in the region.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is the retiree capital of the current data. The metro area's 65-and-older population grew more than 22 percent over the 2020s, the fastest rate in the country, and seniors now make up better than a quarter of its roughly 413,000 residents. The reasons are the beach, the taxes, and the price: the typical home sits around $323,000, just above the state figure, and rent runs below the national average. Sixty miles of beach form the Grand Strand, and Broadway at the Beach, the largest entertainment complex in South Carolina at 350 acres, packs in restaurants, shops, and Ripley's Aquarium. Grand Strand Medical Center anchors care with the region's only cardiac surgery and neurosurgery programs and a Level I trauma center. One caution worth naming: this is a hurricane-exposed coast, so factor storm season and insurance into the budget.
Wildwood, Florida
Wildwood sits in central Florida, less than an hour from Orlando, and it has been one of the fastest-growing places in the country this decade, up nearly 20 percent from 2020 to 2024. Affordability is the draw: the typical home is around $295,000, well under the Florida average, and Florida charges no state income tax, which matters for anyone living on retirement income. Lake Okahumpka Park sits in town with a paved trail, a boat ramp, canoe rentals, and a disc golf course, and the neighboring Villages puts a large public pool and fitness complex at the Eisenhower Regional Recreation Center within reach. The town also has retirement communities of its own, including HeartStone at Wildwood for assisted living and memory care. Everyday medical needs are handled by HCA Florida Trailwinds Village, which runs 24-hour emergency and stroke care.
Kerrville, Texas
Kerrville is Texas Hill Country, which means the Guadalupe River runs right through the appeal. Louise Hays Park puts a walking and biking path along the water in the middle of town, and Kerrville-Schreiner Park adds more than thirteen miles of trails, campsites, and river access on the south side. The typical home is about $355,000, which is above the Texas average but still below the national number, and Texas collects no state income tax. The Museum of Western Art keeps art lovers busy, and Peterson Regional Medical Center covers everything from the emergency room to heart and vascular care. Kerrville also posts one of the lower crime rates among towns its size, which tends to be near the top of a retiree's list.
Dunedin, Florida
Dunedin is the pricier pick on this list, with a typical home around $410,000, a little above the state average, and the Gulf Coast location is what you are paying for. Honeymoon Island State Park has more than four miles of undeveloped beach, and Caladesi Island State Park next door is reachable only by boat or ferry, which keeps its sand among the quietest in the state. Downtown is a walkable grid of the Dunedin Fine Art Center, breweries, and the Pinellas Trail running straight through it, and no state income tax sweetens the whole equation. Mease Dunedin Hospital handles surgery, stroke, and emergency care. As with any Gulf town, hurricane season is a real line item, so weigh flood zones and insurance before you buy.
Gadsden, Alabama
If the budget is the whole point, Gadsden is hard to beat. The typical home value is around $78,000, a fraction of the Alabama average near $230,000, and rent averages about $900 a month, roughly half the national figure. That kind of pricing leaves room for everything else. Noccalula Falls Park is built around a 90-foot waterfall and throws in gardens, a petting zoo, walking trails, and campsites; the James D. Martin Wildlife Park adds wooded hiking where turkey and whitetail deer turn up; and the 18-hole Twin Bridges Golf Course plays along the Coosa River. Riverview Regional Medical Center covers emergency, heart, and rehabilitation services. For a retiree stretching a fixed income, Gadsden does more with less than almost anywhere in the South.
Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken sits about fifteen miles from the Georgia line and the city of Augusta, in the state the Census just named the fastest-growing in the country. The typical home is around $247,000, below the South Carolina average, with rent running under the national number. The town's calling card is horse country and green space: Hopelands Gardens spreads fourteen acres of live oaks, fountains, and ponds, and Hitchcock Woods is a 2,100-acre urban forest with about 70 miles of trails open to walkers, runners, and riders. The Aiken Center for the Arts keeps a year-round schedule of exhibits and classes, and Aiken Regional Medical Center covers emergency, cardiovascular, and cancer care. Retirement communities like Cumberland Village round out the options for anyone who wants to downsize the upkeep.
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough is Tennessee's oldest town, a tight-knit community of fewer than 6,000 with a preserved historic main street and no state income tax to chip away at a pension. The town leans into its stories, literally: it is home to the International Storytelling Center, which hosts live storytelling events into the fall, and the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre keeps a year-round run of shows. Music on the Square brings free outdoor music to the main street on Friday evenings from May through September. For the outdoors, Persimmon Ridge Park is a mile out with wooded walking trails and a disc golf course. The typical home runs around $340,000, right at the state average, and Franklin Woods Community Hospital is about seven miles away for round-the-clock care.
Eight Towns, One Region On The Rise
The through-line is affordability paired with something specific to do. Gadsden and Aiken sit at the low end of the price range; Kerrville and Jonesborough trade a beach for river country and no income tax; Myrtle Beach and Dunedin put you on the water if you can carry the insurance that comes with it. All of them back up the housing math with real hospitals nearby, which is the part of a retirement move that is easy to overlook until it matters. The region is drawing retirees faster than any other in the country, and these eight are a good picture of why.
