The Best Small Town In Michigan For Seniors
With plenty of fresh water to swim or play in, and price points that are tiny fractions of other water-themed places like Florida, retiring in Michigan can mean snapping up a decent waterfront property for a song. And if you love hunting, playing golf, or riding ORVs, this Midwestern gem is paradise.
Keep in mind that Michigan does not tax Social Security income and that it recently passed legislation that will allow retirees to claim the maximum pension deduction in 2026, regardless of age. But which is actually the best small town to move to? It's a close contest, but after considering various factors, including amenities, culture, affordability, and recreational opportunities, we believe Holland is the best small town in Michigan for retirement.
What Retirees Need To Know about Holland
Holland is a beautiful mid-sized city on the 1,700-acre Lake Macatawa, an inlet of Lake Michigan. It is about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Grand Rapids, the state’s second-largest city after Detroit, and the principal trading centre of western Michigan. The town is located in Ottawa County, in the western part of the state, which is among the best counties in the nation for quality of life.
The county scores well in terms of quality healthcare, good education systems, low unemployment rates, safe communities, high collaboration, a philanthropic spirit, and a clean environment. Holland is part of the Holland-Grand Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, one of the smaller metropolitan areas in the state. The town has a population of approximately 35,000 people, with a median age of 32 and a median household income of $72,905. Finally, Holland is widely known in the Midwest for its Dutch heritage.
Holland's Dutch Heritage
Holland was founded in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists led by Dr. Albertus van Raalte, who were seeking refuge from religious persecution in their homeland. Some accounts suggest, however, that their decision was also influenced by opposition to certain social changes, such as vaccinations and contraceptives, which Raalte and his followers were opposed to. Van Raalte was reportedly attracted to the land mainly because of its proximity to the Black River, which flows into Lake Macatawa, which, in turn, leads to Lake Michigan. At the time, the land was inhabited by the Ottawa people who had been on the lake for hundreds of years.
In the subsequent years leading up to World War I, more immigrants came for economic rather than religious reasons. They were drawn to the abundant farmland and well-paying factory work in the Grand Rapids area. Later, area families and churches sponsored refugees from the devastation of World War II. In the 1940s and 50s, the area around Grand Rapids emerged as a center for Dutch religious and cultural life in the United States. Today, however, the Dutch influence has considerably diminished, especially in the last few decades as the city continues to grow and attract transplants from other areas. Although you might occasionally meet Dutch speakers, often older people or staff in heritage sites ( like Nelis' Dutch Village), for most of the population, Dutch isn’t a living language anymore. Still, more than 20% of area residents claim some Dutch ancestry.
Why Holland is the Best Small Town in Michigan to Retire
There’s nothing quite like watching the sun melt into the water, and seeing the colors lighting up the sky, but that's just a tiny bit about what to expect as a retiree here, especially with Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan just a leisurely stroll away. Car insurance shopping website Insurefy previously named Holland the greenest city in the entire state. The website factored several key factors into its analysis, including renewable electricity programs and air quality data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Other than that, with its stunning downtown and iconic red lighthouse, Architectural Digest has previously named Holland as the prettiest town in Michigan.
That said, for many residents, Holland's best feature is its proximity to Grand Rapids, which means retirees can access all kinds of big-city amenities and cultural attractions on a whim, including places like the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, ranked among the most-visited art museums worldwide, as well as Grand Rapids’s Corewell Health, which recently earned the Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award, an accolade held by only 24 centers nationwide. Remember, you get all these while relishing a small-town charm that many retirees find irresistible. That's not to mention the largest municipal snowmelt system in North America, which keeps Holland's sidewalks snow-free in winter, and the Macatawa Area Express, a public transportation system that makes it easy to get around town with or without a car. To cap it all, Holland Hospital is the only hospital in West Michigan to have earned the Outstanding Patient Experience Award for 17 consecutive years (2009-2025) and is one of only two hospitals in the entire state to have reached this milestone.
Why Holland is Unmatched for Art and Culture
If you want to assess whether a community is lively, welcoming, and vibrant, check if it hosts festivals and whether these festivals are truly memorable. You may already know that one of Holland’s greatest claims to fame is its annual Tulip Time Festival, which electrifies the town in May each year. This award-winning festival has been hailed as America’s Best Small Town Festival and the nation’s Best Flower Festival. Spanning a full nine days, meaning it’s far more than a weekend event, Tulip Time Festival is a vibrant celebration of Holland’s Dutch heritage, complete with klompen dancers, an artisan market, a quilt show, a lively parade, a fun-filled carnival, and much more. And naturally, the star of the show is the tulips: over 5 million blooms transforming the city into a breathtaking sea of color.
Other events that residents always eagerly look forward to include the Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP) Fiesta, a dynamic, five-day cultural festival that celebrates Latino heritage through music, dance, and authentic Latin American food; the Summer Concert Series at Kollen Park ( expect lawn chairs and blankets ); Art in the Park, the annual fine arts and crafts fair held each year in August; Dutch WinterFest & Holiday Events; and so many more. Furthermore, there's Windmill Island Gardens, the only authentic Dutch windmill in operation in the United States, where one can explore 36 acres of manicured gardens, dikes and canals; the Holland Community Theater, where you can drag a friend for a mood-lifting show; and Hope College, which U.S News & World Report ranks among the top 100 best liberal arts colleges in the nation for 2025.
Why Holland is Unmatched for Outdoor Recreation
As a retiree who wants to regularly enjoy some soft, white sand and feel the tingling texture between the toes, few places offer the experience that Holland does. Holland offers five public Lake Michigan beaches, complete with opportunities for beachcombing, swimming, boating, and paddling. Holland State Park, an outdoor playground with exceptional credentials, is best known for sugar-white sand, beautiful sunsets, and views of the iconic "Big Red" lighthouse.
There's Tunnel Park as well, a 22-acre beauty with extensive Lake Michigan beachfront that serves as a great place for swimming, sunbathing, and picnicking, and Kirk Park, which boasts over 60 acres of sandy beach, high bluffs, wooded dunes, and an off-leash dog beach. In the same vein, the spectacular Riley Street Trails is a wooded area featuring a mix of pine plantations and beech-maple forests. It offers trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking.
Why Retirees Shouldn't Overlook Holland’s Closest Peers
Another exciting aspect about retiring in Holland is that you are minutes away from several awesome towns, most of which are just as beautiful and fun to explore. You can occasionally drive down to Saugatuck, which is just about 15 minutes down the road, and spend time at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, a top-notch facility that offers plays, films, and a stunning outdoor garden area with art, or at the Saugatuck Dunes State Park, which has two and a half miles of shoreline for hiking and birdwatching. There's fantastic farm-to-table dining, and Oval Beach, one of the world's best freshwater beaches.
Meanwhile, Grand Haven, arguably the grandest Michigan beach town of all, is a 30-minute drive. There's a snow-white beach at Grand Haven State Park with a lighthouse pier, where people come to play and soak up stunning views in every direction. The beach was named AAA's favorite in the state.
So, although picking the best small town in Michigan to retire is incredibly difficult, especially given the numerous excellent choices available, Holland has several tempting features that are too good to overlook. A median listing price of $418,150 may be higher than the statewide median, but if you consider what you get for that amount, and the eye-watering price points of towns with similar offerings, you will agree that Holland certainly offers the best bang for the buck.
