Money Magazine: Best places to retire 2006: Birmingham, AL snapshot

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Winners

Birmingham, AL Population: 234,008 Population, age 50+: 69,568 Population growth, age 50+: 6.52%
Taxes
	City stats
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	5.00%^*
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	2.00%^*
Retirement tax break from state?	No
State property taxes	Below average
Sales tax	9.00%
State gas tax (cents per gallon)	18.0
Housing
	City stats
Median home price	$75,000
Home price gain (2004-2005)	-3.80%
Financial
	City stats
Median household income (per year)	$29,211
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$2,064
Quality of life
	City stats
Air quality index (% of days AQI ranked as good)	19.2%
Personal crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	331
Property crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	342
Personal crime incidents (per 100,000)	1,369
Property crime incidents (per 100,000)	8,178
Leisure and culture
	City stats
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	12
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	1,542
Bars (within 15 miles)	96
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	29
Libraries (within 15 miles)	50
Museums (accredited by AAM within 30 miles)	1
Colleges, universities and professional schools	8
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	0
Weather
	City stats
Annual precipitation (inches)	53.99
Clear days	99
High temp in July ° F	90.6°
Low temp in Jan ° F	32.3°
Health***
	City stats
Hospitals (within 30 miles)	44
Doctors' offices	734
Body mass index (avg. for residents)	28
Cancer mortality (per 100,000, age-adjusted)	226.9
Cardiac mortality (per 100,000)	301.5
Meet the neighbors
	City stats
Median age	34.7
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	46.4%
Married	34.0%
Divorced	13.3%

*Income tax notes:
For joint returns, the taxes are twice the tax imposed on half the income.
***County data

Data: OnBoard, FORTUNE. Details

Nearby places

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Additional data and consulting services provided by Bert Sperling's bestplaces.net.

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	Golf activity index (100=national avg., 200=twice national avg.)
Coconut Creek, FL	141
Palm Harbor, FL	139
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Tennis
	Tennis activity index (100=national avg., 200=twice national avg.)
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Most country club members
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Palm Desert, CA	2.0
Bethesda, MD	2.0
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Most educated
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Arlington, VA	35.7
Davis, CA	34.6
Brookline, MA	32.5
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	Median age
Tamarac, FL	49.69
Lake Havasu City, AZ	46.71
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