Small towns for retiring on a budget
Towns with an emergency room in town, plenty of neighbors 65 and older, and typical home values below the U.S. typical value of $332,700.
How we picked
- A hospital with an emergency room within 5 miles
- At least 1 in 5 residents 65 or older (Census survey, 2020-2024)
- Typical home value below the U.S. typical value
- 2,500 to 75,000 people, and not a suburb of a bigger city
- An emergency room within 30 miles (straight line)
- Population not down more than 5% since 2020 (the book warns against dying towns)
- Ranked by typical home value
| # | Town | Typical home | 65 and older | Hospital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnstown, PA | $45,400 | 20% | Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center (2 stars from Medicare) |
| 2 | Eldorado, IL | $66,200 | 23% | Ferrell Hospital Community Foundations (1 star from Medicare) |
| 3 | Tilton, IL | $70,400 | 26% | OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center (2 stars from Medicare) |
| 4 | Lawrenceville, IL | $71,300 | 20% | Lawrence County Memorial Hospital |
| 5 | Parsons, KS | $71,700 | 21% | Labette Health (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 6 | St. Clair, PA | $71,800 | 22% | Schuylkill Medical Center - South Jackson Street (4 stars from Medicare) |
| 7 | Coleman, TX | $71,900 | 26% | Coleman County Medical Center Company |
| 8 | Louisiana, MO | $72,100 | 21% | Pike County Memorial Hospital |
| 9 | Baxley, GA | $72,300 | 20% | Appling Healthcare |
| 10 | Kewanee, IL | $73,200 | 24% | OSF Saint Luke Medical Center (4 stars from Medicare) |
| 11 | Kane, PA | $73,600 | 22% | UPMC Kane |
| 12 | Anson, TX | $74,800 | 23% | Anson General Hospital |
| 13 | Paris, IL | $75,700 | 21% | Paris Community Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 14 | Flora, IL | $77,300 | 22% | Clay County Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 15 | Pana, IL | $77,900 | 23% | Pana Community Hospital (4 stars from Medicare) |
| 16 | Titusville, PA | $79,200 | 24% | Titusville Area Hospital (2 stars from Medicare) |
| 17 | McLeansboro, IL | $79,500 | 21% | Hamilton Memorial Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 18 | Ironwood, MI | $83,100 | 28% | Aspirus Ironwood Hospital |
| 19 | Harrisburg, IL | $84,100 | 21% | Harrisburg Medical Center (2 stars from Medicare) |
| 20 | Ford City, PA | $84,400 | 25% | Acmh Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 21 | Blackwell, OK | $85,600 | 22% | Stillwater Medical-Blackwell |
| 22 | Murphysboro, IL | $85,900 | 22% | St. Joseph Memorial Hospital |
| 23 | Metropolis, IL | $86,000 | 24% | Massac Memorial Hospital (2 stars from Medicare) |
| 24 | Plymouth, NC | $87,000 | 29% | Washington County Hosp INC |
| 25 | Benton, IL | $87,200 | 25% | Franklin Hospital |
| 26 | Aberdeen, MS | $87,600 | 29% | Monroe Regional Hospital |
| 27 | Farrell, PA | $87,800 | 23% | Sharon Regional Medical Center (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 28 | Fairfield, IL | $88,800 | 25% | Fairfield Memorial Hospital 1 (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 29 | Mount Carmel, IL | $89,300 | 23% | Wabash General Hospital 1 |
| 30 | Centralia, IL | $89,600 | 22% | SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital -Centralia (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 31 | Falls City, NE | $89,800 | 23% | Community Medical Center, INC (4 stars from Medicare) |
| 32 | Sebring, OH | $90,300 | 35% | Alliance Community Hospital (4 stars from Medicare) |
| 33 | Wellsville, NY | $91,200 | 23% | Jones Memorial Hospital (4 stars from Medicare) |
| 34 | Freeport, IL | $92,100 | 24% | Fhn Memorial Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 35 | Seymour, TX | $93,200 | 27% | Seymour Hospital |
| 36 | Manistique, MI | $93,300 | 22% | Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital |
| 37 | Columbus, KS | $94,100 | 21% | Mercy Hospital Columbus |
| 38 | Massena, NY | $94,400 | 20% | Slhs Massena, INC |
| 39 | Larned, KS | $94,500 | 26% | Pawnee Valley Community Hospital |
| 40 | Hornell, NY | $94,500 | 22% | St. James Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 41 | Rushville, IL | $94,700 | 23% | Sarah D Culbertson Memorial Hospital |
| 42 | Refugio, TX | $94,800 | 20% | Refugio County Memorial Hospital |
| 43 | Mullins, SC | $95,300 | 20% | Musc Health Marion Medical Center (3 stars from Medicare) |
| 44 | Monessen, PA | $95,900 | 23% | Penn Highlands Mon Valley (1 star from Medicare) |
| 45 | Oelwein, IA | $96,300 | 23% | Mercyone Oelwein Medical Center |
| 46 | Galesburg, IL | $96,400 | 22% | St. Mary Medical Center (2 stars from Medicare) |
| 47 | Princeton, KY | $96,600 | 20% | Caldwell Medical Center |
| 48 | Corry, PA | $96,800 | 23% | Lecom Health Corry Memorial Hospital |
| 49 | Marion, KY | $97,300 | 25% | Crittenden Community Hospital |
| 50 | Abbeville, LA | $97,300 | 21% | Abbeville General Hospital (3 stars from Medicare) |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2025 population estimates; American Community Survey 2020-2024), Medicare hospital data, NOAA climate normals, the National Park Service and the Education Department, as on each town page. Census survey figures are estimates; towns where the survey is too thin for a figure are left off lists that use it. Miles are straight-line. Data last updated October 5, 2026.
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