Money Magazine: Best places to retire 2006: Columbus, GA snapshot

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Winners

Columbus, GA Population: 180,646 Population, age 50+: 49,905 Population growth, age 50+: 8.57%
Taxes
	City stats
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	6.00%^*
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	1.00%^*
Retirement tax break from state?	No
State property taxes	Average
Sales tax	7.00%
State gas tax (cents per gallon)	7.5
Housing
	City stats
Median home price	$135,000
Home price gain (2004-2005)	8.40%
Financial
	City stats
Median household income (per year)	$38,558
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$2,137
Quality of life
	City stats
Air quality index (% of days AQI ranked as good)	63.6%
Personal crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	93
Property crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	131
Personal crime incidents (per 100,000)	480
Property crime incidents (per 100,000)	6,651
Leisure and culture
	City stats
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	10
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	641
Bars (within 15 miles)	50
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	11
Libraries (within 15 miles)	11
Museums (accredited by AAM within 30 miles)	1
Colleges, universities and professional schools	2
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	0
Weather
	City stats
Annual precipitation (inches)	48.57
Clear days	110
High temp in July ° F	91.7°
Low temp in Jan ° F	36.6°
Health***
	City stats
Hospitals (within 30 miles)	15
Doctors' offices	186
Body mass index (avg. for residents)	27
Cancer mortality (per 100,000, age-adjusted)	174.3
Cardiac mortality (per 100,000)	312.3
Meet the neighbors
	City stats
Median age	32.7
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	55.4%
Married	44.3%
Divorced	12.2%

*Income tax notes:
The tax brackets reported are for single individuals. For married households filing separately, the same rates apply to income brackets ranging from $500 to $5,000; and the income brackets range from $1,000 to $10,000 for joint filers.
***County data

Data: OnBoard, FORTUNE. Details

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

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