Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A new report puts the capital city at number one in terms of where retirees should live in the state.  Other cities in Central Illinois are also on the list.

The report from Retirement Living — listed as “The Journal of Retirement Research — ranks Springfield as number one, while Decatur is number two, Bloomington is number four, and Peoria is number six.  With the exception of Rockford, all of the other top ten cities are in the Chicago suburbs.

The publication says they used five key factors in their methodology:  percentage of residents 65 and older, median home sale price, median rent, poverty rate, and sales tax.

According to Retirement Living, in Springfield’s case, it’s being credited with affordable housing prices, and seniors making up 21.8 percent of the population.  They claim the median home price is $147,350, average rent is $945, and poverty is at 13.3 percent — higher than the state average of 11.6 percent.

The report indicates that one of the best reasons to retire in Illinois is because the state doesn’t tax retirement income.

CLICK HERE for their full report.