NEAREST BIG CITY

The big city brings noise, pollution and congestion but also offers services and amenities that can't be found in the smaller city or town. Access and choice to arts, education, entertainment, airport and medical care facilities is generally better in a big city, so it is important to be near the city to take advantage as needed, but not too near.

Pinehurst, North Carolina and Prescott, Arizona rank highest of our 99 top retirement cities in this category because of their proximity to large metropolitan centers. For ranking purposes, a large city less than 60 miles away is too near, and greater than 120 miles away is too far.

Nearest Big City ( > 200,000 population)
2006 Census

							GPTR
City/Town	< 60 miles away		> 60 and < 120 miles away		> 120 miles away		Rank
Pinehurst, NC			71	Raleigh			1
			74	Greensboro
			84	Durham
			91	Charlotte
			97	Winston-Salem
Prescott, AZ			96	Glendale			2
			100	Phoenix
			109	Scottsdale
			115	Mesa
Tyler, TX			98	Dallas			3
			98	Shreveport
			108	Plano
			120	Arlington
Monterey, CA			75	San Jose			4
			89	Fremont
			113	Oakland
Southampton, NY			92	New York City			5
			94	Jersey City
			103	Newark
Kingston, NY			99	Newark			6
			101	Jersey City
			103	New York City
Fort Collins, CO			64	Denver			7
Fort Collins, CO			75	Aurora
Ocean City, NJ			65	Philadelphia			8
Ocean City, NJ			120	Newark
Fond du Lac, WI			66	Milwaukee			9
			73	Madison
Bowling Green, KY			66	Nashville			10
			115	Louisville
Athens, GA			70	Atlanta			11
			99	Augusta
Gainesville, FL			72	Jacksonville			12
			113	Orlando
Rochester, MN			77	St Paul			13
			83	Minneapolis
Boone, NC			102	Charlotte			14
			114	Greensboro
Palm Springs, CA			109	Los Angeles			15
			112	Glendale
Sedona, AZ			111	Glendale			16
Sedona, AZ			115	Phoenix
Lynchburg, VA			115	Richmond			17
			115	Greensboro
Olympia, WA			60	Seattle			18
South Lake Tahoe, CA			61	Reno			19
			100	Sacramento
Santa Fe, NM			64	Albuquerque			20
Newport, RI			71	Boston			21
Melbourne, FL			72	Orlando			22
Concord, NH			72	Boston			22
Yarmouth, Cape Cod, MA			74	Boston			24
Bellingham, WA			89	Seattle			25
Columbia, SC			93	Charlotte			26
Burlington, VT			95	Montreal			27
Vail, CO			97	Denver			28
Greenville, SC			103	Charlotte			29
Portland, ME			107	Boston			30
Lake Placid, NY			112	Montreal			31
Iowa City, IA			115	Des Moines			32
Naples, FL			115	Hialeah			32
Provincetown, MA			115	Boston			32
Fayetteville, AR			116	Tulsa			35
Green Bay, WI			116	Milwaukee			35
St. George, UT			120	Las Vegas			37
San Luis Obispo, CA					122	Bakersfield	38
Champaign, IL					122	Indianapolis	38
Valdosta, GA					123	Jacksonville	40
Hanover, PA	55	Baltimore	87	Washington D.C.			41
Port Townsend, WA	55	Seattle	80	Tacoma			42
			119	Vancouver, Canada
Marietta, OH					126	Columbus	43
Bloomington, IN	51	Indianapolis	91	Louisville			44
Galveston, TX	50	Houston					45
Williamsburg, VA	47	Norfolk	61	Virginia Beach			46
Las Cruces, NM	47	El Paso					46
Clarksville, TN	47	Nashville					46



							GPTR
City/Town	< 60 miles away		> 60 and < 120 miles away		> 120 miles away		Rank
Gulf Shores, AL	46	Mobile					49
Winter Haven, FL	46	Orlando	74	St Petersburg			49
Winter Haven, FL	52	Tampa
Boca Raton, FL	44	Hialeah					51
	47	Miami
Ann Arbor, MI	42	Detroit					52
	58	Toledo
Napa, CA	42	Oakland	69	Fremont			53
	47	San Francisco	71	Stockton
	59	Sacramento	81	San Jose
			102	Modesto
Stamford, CT	41	New York City					54
	43	Jersey City
	49	Newark
Princeton, NJ	41	Newark					55
	45	Philadelphia
	47	Jersey City
	50	New York City
Carolina Beach, NC					141	Raleigh	56
Sarasota, FL	39	St Petersburg	62	Tampa			57
Newnan, GA	38	Atlanta					58
Coeur d'Alene, ID	34	Spokane					59
Wenatchee, WA					148	Seattle	60
Naperville, IL	32	Chicago					60
Annapolis, MD	31	Baltimore					62
	32	Washington D.C.
The Woodlands, TX	31	Houston					62
San Marcos, TX	30	Austin					64
San Marcos, TX	50	San Antonio
Half Moon Bay, CA	30	San Francisco	90	Stockton			64
	40	San Jose	99	Modesto
	42	Oakland	114	Sacramento
Boulder, CO	29	Denver	97	Colorado Springs			66
Boulder, CO	39	Aurora
Georgetown, TX	28	Austin	76	Waco			67
			107	San Antonio
Chapel Hill, NC	28	Raleigh					67
Chapel Hill, NC	50	Greensboro
Aspen, CO					154	Colorado Springs	69
Oak Ridge, TN	23	Knoxville					70
Key West, FL					161	Miami	71
Bend, OR					162	Portland	72
Springfield, MO					166	Kansas City	73
Newport Beach, CA	14	Santa Ana	91	San Diego			73
	19	Anaheim
	30	Long Beach
	51	Los Angeles
	52	Glendale
Kailua, Oahu, HI	12	Honolulu					75
Vancouver, WA	9	Portland					76
Middleton, WI	7	Madison	92	Milwaukee			77
Cambridge, MA	4	Boston					78
Paradise Valley, AZ	4	Scottsdale					78
	14	Mesa
	15	Glendale
	16	Phoenix
	22	Chandler
	23	Gilbert
Hilton Head, SC					178	Jacksonville	80
Colorado Springs, CO	0	Colorado Springs	70	Denver			81
Boise, ID	0	Boise					81
Reno, NV	0	Reno					81
Chandler, AZ	0	Chandler					81
	9	Mesa
	19	Scottsdale
	23	Phoenix
	33	Glendale
Henderson, NV	0	Henderson					81
	16	Las Vegas
Hot Springs Village, AR					193	Memphis	86
Missoula, MT					199	Spokane	87
Durango, CO					215	Albuquerque	88
Coos Bay, OR					219	Portland	89
Gatlinburg, TN					221	Nashville	90
Bishop, CA					204	Reno	91
Fargo, ND					236	Minneapolis	92
Pocatello, ID					237	Boise	93
Bigfork, MT					240	Spokane	94
Medford, OR					273	Portland	95
Casper, WY					277	Denver	96
Great Falls, MT					365	Spokane	97
Park City, UT					373	Boise	98
Provo, UT					378	Las Vegas	99
Distance to the nearest Large City of > 200,000 is in approximate driving miles.

GPTR Rank - Cities with the best ranks are those far enough away to "escape" the city yet not so far as to
make it difficult to take advantage of entertainment, health care, travel and other
amenities of the city.