Johnson City:  8th Best Place For African-Americans To Retire

By Nate Morabito
Reporter / WJHL
Published: October 8, 2008

According to Black Enterprise magazine, Johnson City is among the top places in the United States for African-American retirees. The popular African-American magazine, read by an estimated four million people, released its “20 Best Places to Retire” issue this month. Johnson City was the only municipality in the Tri-Cities region ranked in the issue, coming in eighth.

Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe along with members of the Johnson City branch of the NAACP announced the ranking Wednesday.

“Obviously, the secret is out,” Roe said.

The magazine used six categories to come up with its top 20 list. They included quality of life, healthcare, taxes, leisure, arts and culture, and climate. Johnson City received an overall score of 74.5 out of 100 points. The city’s quality of life scored an 80 and Johnson City’s healthcare received a 99.

“For Johnson City to be recognized is just mind blowing to me,” NAACP President Ralph Davis said.

The magazine ranked Johnson City 8th despite a small African-American population. The black community makes up just 6.4% of the entire city. Still, what Johnson City lacks in diversity, Black Enterprise found it makes up in other areas.

“There’s definitely the cultural implications of saying that we’re making such a notable advancement in the African-American community,” NAACP member Adam Dickson said.

Dickson said the ranking could have a major economic impact.

“African-Americans have a $900 billion buying power,” he said. “People that are earning $50,000 and more are willing and wanting to retire here today.”

Durham, North Carolina topped the Black Enterprise rankings. Other notable cities included Charlottesville, Virginia, which came in 2nd, Nashville, which came in 4th, Virginia Beach, Virginia, which ranked 9th, and Asheville, North Carolina, which came in 14th.

Rankings
1) Durham, NC
2) Charlottesville, VA
3) Ann Arbor, MI
4) Nashville, TN
5) Lexington, KY
6) Roswell, GA
7) Columbia, MO
8) Johnson City, TN
9) Virginia Beach, VA
10) Indianapolis, IN
11) Asheville, NC
12) Gahanna, OH
13) Gainesville, FL
14) Minneapolis, MN
15) Austin, TX
16) Ithaca, NY
17) Madison, WI
18) Kent, WA
19) Portland, OR
20) Fort Walton Beach, FL