20 Best Southern Cities To Retire Without a Car

Retirement can be expensive, even in the fairly affordable American South. As such, retirees on a budget would be well served to find ways to cut line items from their budgets — especially when it comes to cars.

The average retiree pays $3,989 annually for car insurance, vehicle financing, gas and maintenance and repair fees. Going carless in your retirement can therefore save you nearly $4,000 per year, which can otherwise go towards healthcare, housing and retirement fun.

Before going carless, however, you’ve got to know where to live — that’s why GOBankingRates recently performed a study to find the 50 best places in America to retire without a car. To do so, GOBankingRates sourced every major city in which at least 20% of the population is of retirement age. From those cities were selected the locations with high livability rankings as well as high scores on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Walkability Index. Any city with a Walkability Index score of 10.51 to 15.25 is deemed above-average in terms of walkability, while any with a score of 15.26 to 20 indicates a city that is most walkable. Finally, from that matrix of cities, GOBankingRates selected those belong to states in the American South.

For anyone planning a Southern retirement that isn’t saddled with car payments, gas charges and high repair fees, these are the cities for you.

• Livability: 91
• Walkability: 17.0
• Cost of living (annually): $73,020
• Cost of transportation index: 130.3

• Livability: 85
• Walkability: 17.7
• Cost of living (annually): $46,719
• Cost of transportation index: 119.5

• Livability: 84
• Walkability: 17.3
• Cost of living (annually): $41,399
• Cost of transportation index: 90.2

• Livability: 76
• Walkability: 19.0
• Cost of living (annually): $46,517
• Cost of transportation index: 104.3

• Livability: 89
• Walkability: 13.5
• Cost of living (annually): $74,701
• Cost of transportation index: 127.3

• Livability: 80
• Walkability: 16.5
• Cost of living (annually): $45,577
• Cost of transportation index: 102.0

• Livability: 83
• Walkability: 15.0
• Cost of living (annually): $76,859
• Cost of transportation index: 139.8

• Livability: 76
• Walkability: 16.5
• Cost of living (annually): $45,422
• Cost of transportation index: 97.0

• Livability: 68
• Walkability: 19.3
• Cost of living (annually): $41,297
• Cost of transportation index: 80.0

• Livability: 89
• Walkability: 11.0
• Cost of living (annually): $63,686
• Cost of transportation index: 111.1

• Livability: 74
• Walkability: 16.8
• Cost of living (annually): $41,724
• Cost of transportation index: 90.7

• Livability: 71
• Walkability: 17.8
• Cost of living (annually): $103,626
• Cost of transportation index: 128.8

• Livability: 76
• Walkability: 15.8
• Cost of living (annually): $44,923
• Cost of transportation index: 94.2

• Livability: 67
• Walkability: 19.3
• Cost of living (annually): $32,335
• Cost of transportation index: 84.2

• Livability: 77
• Walkability: 15.2
• Cost of living (annually): $44,454
• Cost of transportation index: 84.6

• Livability: 80
• Walkability: 13.8
• Cost of living (annually): $57,320
• Cost of transportation index: 103.3

• Livability: 71
• Walkability: 17.2
• Cost of living (annually): $44,229
• Cost of transportation index: 96.4

• Livability: 81
• Walkability: 12.8
• Cost of living (annually): $51,260
• Cost of transportation index: 84.1

• Livability: 89
• Walkability: 9.5
• Cost of living (annually): $53,597
• Cost of transportation index: 98.5

• Livability: 70
• Walkability: 16.8
• Cost of living (annually): $118,209
• Cost of transportation index: 81.4

Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.

Methodology: Retirement population data was sourced from the U.S Census 2024 American Community Survey. Only cities with retirement populations of 20% or more were used in the study. Cost of living was determined using data from Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for retired consumer units, Zillow Home Value Index and Federal Reserve Economic Data. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes. The walkability index was sourced from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Walkability Index. The rankings were determined by scoring livability and walkability. All data was collected on Oct. 20, 2025.