The Villages is a 55+ community located about an hour north of Orlando in Central Florida.
It is consistently the best-selling (and fastest growing) master-planned community in the country.
The Villages is definitely one place that's getting cooler with age.
Check out the fun facts below.
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Population
- The Villages population passed 100,000 in 2012 and there are more than 130,000 residents today.
- The U.S. Census Bureau named The Villages the fastest growing Metropolitan Statistical Area for the decade 2010-2019.
- The population of the Villages grows by approximately 4,500 annually.
- To maintain its 55+ status under federal law, at least 80 percent of homes must be occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of age or older.
- The average age in The Villages for a male is 62 and female is 60.
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income is $61,333, but The Villages Commercial Property Management promotes The Villages average household income as being $93,800.
- For the most part, people under the age of 19 years are not permitted to reside within The Villages, but may visit for a maximum of 30 days per year unless a longer exemption is granted.
- The Villages population is larger than 33 of the 67 counties in Florida
Veterans in The Villages
- The Villages is home to one of the highest concentrations of veterans of any community in the nation.
- Most estimates say that more than 20,000 veterans call The Villages home.
- The Villages has the second-highest percentage of former members of the armed forces in the nation, trailing only Mountain Home, Idaho, which is next to an Air Force base.
- There are more than 20 veterans groups and organizations in or around The Villages, including Villagers for Veterans and the Villages Honor Flight.
- The Villages Veterans’ Memorial Park hosts ceremonies each year for observance such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day and more.
Real Estate
- New home sales in The Villages continue to average approximately 200-250 per month.
- Pre-owned home sales in The Villages are currently averaging 200 per month.
- Homes prices range from $200,000 to over 1 million dollars
- Half of the people buying homes in The Villages pay cash for their house.
- Villages range in size from 100 homes to 1550 homes. The Village of Duval is the largest with 1550 homes.
- The Villages property area covers over 33,000 acres.
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Location
- The Villages is located about an hour north of Orlando.
- The Villages occupies parts of three counties in Florida (Lake, Sumter & Marion).
- There are over 100 miles of golf cart paths.
- Approximately 150,000 people travel through The Villages each day along its busiest corridor US 441/27.
- There are five water towers in The Villages.
- There are over 1,200 miles of water mains.
- There are over 8,000 manholes in The Villages.
Shopping, Dining, & Entertainment
- There are three town squares (Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood Paddock Square).
- A fourth town center/square has been announced.
- The Villages has more than 100 restaurants on property (and many more nearby).
- Villagers spend over $200 million dollars annually in eating and drinking establishments.
- There are over 15,000 people who work in The Villages, or for businesses in the community.
- The Villages Commercial Property Management claims there is a 98 percent occupancy rate in the town squares and retail centers.
- The Villages is currently home to more than 7 million square feet of commercial buildings and retail space.
- The Villages Daily Sun has been one of the fastest-growing newspapers in the U.S. for 10 years running.
- In 2017, The Villages Daily Sun was among 12 finalists for “World's Best-Designed Newspapers” from the Society for News Design. Other finalists included newspapers like The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.
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Recreation
- There are over 2,400 organized clubs in The Villages.
- There are more than 100 recreation centers of various size and scope in The Villages.
- Villagers play 5,200 softball games each year
- The two largest recreation events in The Villages each year are Camp Villages with over 7,000 Villagers and grandchildren participating, and the Senior Games, where Villagers compete in multiple events in sixteen different sports ranging from bocce to basketball, archery to volleyball.
- 1,417 athletes participated in one or more events in this year’s Senior Games in The Villages, totaling 2,796 entries in all 16 sports.
- 157 athletes (11%) of the athletes participated in more than five events in this year’s Senior Games in The Villages.
- The Villages has more than 100 tennis courts.
- There are around 200 pickleball courts in The Villages.
- There are 6 dog parks in The Villages.
- The Villages has its own Polo stadium and Polo leagues.
- The Villages polo club has the largest polo crowds in the U.S. with over 30,000 spectators a year.
Golf
- The Villages has more holes of golf than any other community/facility in the world with currently 711 holes. (Mission Hills in China is second with 216 holes).
- There are about 10,000 tee times available each day in The Villages.
- Last year a total of 55,663 Villagers played one or more rounds of golf for a total of 2,546,611 rounds of golf. The approximate number of miles driven in golf carts for this many rounds of golf on The Villages golf courses total 6,330,365 miles. That’s a distance equivalent to driving around the world at the Equator 254 times.
- There were 1,832 holes-in-one recorded in The Villages last year. That’s 5 holes in one recorded every day of the year.
- 316 Villagers shot their age or better last year a total of 1,500 times.
- Statistically, there were 5,810,493 golf balls lost in The Villages last year.
- About one-third of Villages residents are regular golfers.
- Playing 18 holes per day, a Villager could play 38 straight days of golf in The Villages without repeating a hole.
- Golf carts are the vehicle of choice in The Villages. Though no official records are kept, most estimate that there are over 60,000 golf carts in The Villages
- The Villages Golf Cars has five showrooms in The Villages and they combine to sell more Yamaha golf cars than any other dealer in the United States.
- 315 Holes of golf in The Villages have Received Audubon International’s Silver Certified Sanctuary Designation.
- In 2011, CBS Sunday Morning featured a video segment on The Villages Golf Carts and it racked up more than 4 million views on YouTube.
Health and Public Safety
- The Villages Regional Hospital started 11 years ago with 60 beds and now has over 300 beds.
- It is now owned/operated by UF/Shands and called UF Health The Villages Hospital.
- The Villages is home to a 99,000 square foot VA Outpatient Clinic
- According to FBI Crime Data, The Villages is the safest Metropolitan Statistical Area in Florida
- The Villages Community Watch is comprised of six full time and 294 part time employees. According to the Community Watch its employees patrol 80,000 miles of neighborhood streets each month while averaging more than 3.5 passes by everyone’s home every 24 hrs. In 2011 employees performed more than 209,000 security activities or actions during the year.
- The Villages has seven fire stations. The Villages Public Safety Department has almost 90 employees, about 70% are trained medics and 30% are trained EMT’s.
- 10,230 calls were made by the Public Safety Department in The Villages last year.
- About 1% were for fires (flames), 10% were service calls, 9% were false alarms, and 80% were medical/rescue calls.
- The survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest in The Villages Fl last year was 44% – about 7 times the national average of only 6%.
- Contributing to this high survival rate are the many Villagers taking CPR training – over 7,000 in the last five years; and neighborhood CPR/AED programs.
- The Villages has its own Charter School for employee children, allowing a student to attend from Pre-K3 thru High School. The Villages Charter School is an A-rated High School with 99% of students graduating. 93% of students at The Villages Charter School advance to higher education
- The Villages Charter School has over 2,200 students per year.
Sources: The VHA, The POA, Daily Commercial, Wikipedia, Villages Commercial Property Management, Villages Community Development Districts, and Villages-News
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Joyce davis says
What and how are HOA fees determined?
SeaShell says
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW:
(1) DO THEY HAVE PUBLIC BUS TRANSPORTATION IN THE VILLAGES?
(2) ARE THEY CONSTRUCTING SOMETHING SIMILAR IN JACKSONVILLE, FL AND ST. AUGUSTINE, FL.
EXTREMELY HOMESICK FOR FLORIDA. MUCH THANKS FOR YOUR EFFORT AND PLEASE KEEP THIS BLOG A BLOGGING!!!
John says
You left out the numerous radio controlled opportunities for racing scaled cars, planes and boats.
Dan says
I am 64 on May 1st and haven’t bought anywhere yet. Heading down there end of June and will stop at Top of the World and Citrius Hill as well. Wondering how much higher Real estate taxes are on say a $250,000 home if you buy it and are not living there yet. Also, how easy would it be to find a tenant if I wanted to rent it out.
Thanks
Dan
Emmanuel says
Am curious, since no one mentions this. What are the monthly dues and how is it determined? Thank you!
Marsha Centofanti says
We visited the villages many years ago and continued to revisit through the years.
Now we are again revisiting online to buy a home.
Tracy Niedzwiedz says
I love the villages. I have plans to retire here as well.. It’s fantastic. Skip smith POSTS YouTube videos from here all the time. I’m way to young to retire but when I do , I know where I’m going.
Rented a golf cart. I drove all over the villages. It was so fun. 1st time driving one. It was very interesting. If I must say something the 60s diner was a blast. Wish they had fries. Everything and everyone seemed nice.
Herman R. Campbell says
I’m a retired city employee, but I feel like a millionaire here.
dave says
When we frist checked out the Villages all we seen were old poeple LOL now I am 84 and feel to old to make the move .Damm I am sorry that I waited to long Its a great place we go visit once a year for a month .
M Hewett says
I use to live there and loved every minute of it. The only reason I’m not there now my husband thought he wanted to move back home. Well that didn’t work out he passed away a year ago an d now I’m. alone and can’t afford to move back it was the most fun place I have ever lived if I win the lotto I would be back in a week but I don’t play the lotto so I won’t win. When you are there having a good time and you are wondering how old someone is who cares think of me I’m seventy 72 and I would love to be there. It’s not for everyone but it sure was for me.
Yvette says
I agree. It is definitely for me. In my opinion, no place can compare. I hope you can return some day. Maybe you could find someone looking for someone to share their home and expenses. Unfortunately, many times we do not realize what we have until we lose it. There are many styles of homes to pick from at one phase of our lives to another, single family of all sizes, villas, now apartments in Brownwood, assisted living … It is not Paradise. No matter where you live, people will dwell on the negative and overlook the positive.
Karen says
Hi M,
I’m thinking of retiring in a few months and hoping to find a good retirement community. I was wondering what your opinion is of “single living” in the Village. I have no family in Florida so making this move is a little concerning.
J. L. Jensen says
Love all this info. These people worried about age, it’s an average at that time! Stop nit picking and live now! My hubby and I look younger but the bones tell you we are older.
Patsy says
I visit The Villages every week, for shopping, and eating out but live 15 miles south and so nice to leave there with all the hustle and bustle and come home to our truly gated secured community just a few miles away!
Marie Anne says
Lived in Leesburg until recently! The Villages is an awful place to get around in unless you do nothing but drive a golf cart! The traffic is absolutely horrible! Old people who have no idea of what they are doing! Most of them really don’t belong behind the wheel of any vehicle! The last time I went there (which was about a month ago). Someone smacked in my drivers side door! If you want to go out to eat, you better rethink that one, you can’t even get into a restaurant! It’s supposed to be the friendliest home town, NOT!! People are so rude there! I would never consider living there. They would have to pay me to live there!!!
Mike says
I hate leaving The Villages and dealing with the traffic in Leesburg. Jacked up pickup trucks passing you at 80 mph on Route 441. And with your attitude, it doesn’t surprise me that they may have responded to you in a way that seemed rude. I was with a friend yesterday and after giving her a “tour” around my villages, she was shocked to see that all the terrible things she had been told, living 30 minutes away from the villages, was in fact false.
Mary says
Totally disagree. This is a myth! Traffic here in the Villages is much less than the small city we came from. It is very easy to get around by car or golf cart. We have had no issues getting a table in any restaurant and we eat out at least twice a week!
We have lived here full-time
going on 3 years now.
Couldn’t be happier!
Joan Cameron says
Hi, my Uncle lives in The Villages, the Spanish Quarter. We visited from UK as we did when they lived in Washington DC. We were totally in awe of what they had, their property, the community halls, golf courses, social activities out & about. We actually looked at some new builds which were so economically affordable & I must admit I would have bought there & now. The reason we did not is the flights from UK are so expensive for our growing family that probably we would not see our kids for long periods & that would upset me. I have visited lots of countries & apart from San Francisco my 2nd choice would be The Villages.
Brian says
The “average age” thing is relative, In my historical section N of 441 (Silver Lake) the average may well be over 75 but down south of 466A, (the newest areas of The Villages), I am sure many have taken early retirement and their numbers drag the average way down.
Anyway who cares? If you come here you come for the lifestyle and do what you can with any age limitations you may have!
Penny says
To me it really doesn’t matter what the “average” age is. It’s only a number. Just be happy and content and don’t worry if your neighbor is older or younger than you. Who really cares?
Debbie says
Moved to The Villages in 2000 from Texas (originally from Ohio) & my now deceased husband was 58. We were maybe the “young crowd’ 15 years ago. Now the baby boomers have found the best retirement community on the planet! I agree with the average age in the early 60’s especially in areas south of 466! Moved from Glenbrook to Hadley to Buttonwood & love each Village & each new Villager I meet! Still loving The Villeges Lifestyle 15 years later!
James McClearn says
I just turned 65yrs old last month my wife is 58yrs. old . We bought when I was 60 yrs. old and moved in just before I turned 62 yrs. Don’t go to the sq. every night have other things to do. Do find a lot of couple. from other area’s outside The Villages .here. We go to moves dinner the clubs we joined playing golf walks and going for rides in our golf carts
Jim Carroll says
My story is not uncommon. we moved in when I was 53, my wife 52 we have lived here 9 years and now guess what, we are the average age of Villagers. The reason most of the younger people are not enjoying the music on the squares is they are too busy playing golf, softball, pickleball, bowling, tennis, volleyball, cycling, running, walking, waterskiing, skating, swimming, or one of the 2000 clubs here. The answer is yes, you can also do nothing and be quite content. Many people volunteer with what their passions are and also work part time or full time jobs to stay active. It’s a great place to be and we have not regretted a single day, the days we are away are exciting , but we always end with a feeling of contentment as we come home to our Villages.
Paula says
Exactly what I was going to say! We never go to “ the squares”…we have better things to do!
Fred says
Jean I keep hearing individual stories like yours but have to discount them because I am not blind. If you just wain ANY square you will see that the average age is more like 75 – 78. Unless they are very old looking 62 year olds I know that this statistic is totally misleading.
Perhaps if you factor in the babies in the under 55 worker section but its misleading. I’ve challenged my brother who lives there to just show me ONE only ONE person who looked 62 in the Spanish Springs square and he could not do it even in two hours.
Average age is really closer to 77 years old.
Garry R says
FYI Fred, you can’t judge average age by looking at Spanish Springs town square. It is the oldest area in the Villages, with
most homes being built 20 or more years ago. However, more than half the homes in the Villages were built in the last 10 years. Check out the other two town squares. You’ll see a lot younger crowd.
Jean Weaver says
My husband and I just bought a Villa on my 63rd birthday so we were there renting for a month at age 62. Our new neighbor’s are 56.
Fred says
I think there is a lot of exaggeration about the average age. This is saying the average age is 62 but unless you are half blind you can see that this statistic is totally incorrect. Its very, very hard to even find anyone who looks 62 walking around any of the squares. But if you find someone who looks 62 go up and ask them and they will most likely tell you they are visiting someone.
Nothing wrong with this but if they are taking average age and adding in perhaps infants from the surrounding area that is the only way they can get 62.
Its just not right to mislead someone with skewed statistics.
Joseph Mack says
The last stat I saw quoted 68 as an average for the Villages.
Mary says
I am 61 and moved here in 2019 & absolutely love it. I have 10 friends in my immediate neighbor who are less than 62 years of age!
It is not too big or crowded! It is like a group of small suburbs (called villages).
Cheryl says
Brenda, visit their website. Thevillages.com. My husband and I went and stayed there on the Lifestyle Plan. You stay in one of their homes, with golf cart, and I.d.s. Chance to,experience what it’s like to live there. We bought before we left. Haha. And yes…..there is a tour available at the lake sumpter sales office.
Brenda Reuter says
My husband and I would like to visit around the first of May. Is a tour available?
parr says
The villages is a great place to live , as long as you don’t have a problem. They will not stand behind you or in force their own rules.You are on your own
lolly pop says
The under 19 age limit is false and I can prove it . I have been telling them about children that live on my block for 2 years.
Paul says
I have been watching The Villages since the mid 90’s. have visited there 5 times since 2000 and have watched it grow and grow. We always planned on retiring there but we are now reconsidering because of how big it has become and the amount of people there. We will be retiring in the next couple years but we are actively looking at other locations now to see where else we might be interested in. That is something I never thought I would do. I wish they would open another one somewhere else.
Donna Cuic says
I was afraid it was too big and too crowded also and we went this week to take a tour with a sales rep, Ben Bartlett, and man I’m glad I went with the sales rep….If I would have gone on my own it would have overwhelmed me trying to figure out how to get around… yes it is big but from where you get your house you do not have to go far at all to get to where you need to go for shopping, entertainment, medical help, etc. I was really really impressed. We are a few years away from retirement also and we are planning on going there.
john wright says
He is are assigned host as we are scheduled for are 1st lifestyle visit.
Thanks for the good recommendation on Ben. We are excited on learning as much we can about the villages. We like that it is still family owned. We will be arriving Dec. 8-15th.
Deb Roulette says
I’m very sorry to here that but don’t let that stop you. We started renting here in 2005 and bought in 2017. Believe me this is so spread out we never feel like it is over crowded. Usually when you go to a restaurant your wait might be one cocktail or less. Don’t let the population scare you.
Sandy says
My husband and I dreamed of retiring in The Villages for many years. We ended up retiring in Florida, but not The Villages. We agree, it has gotten out of hand in our opinion. We absolutely love living in Florida and in a retirement community! Good luck with your decision.
Kelly says
The 3 dedicated under-19 neighborhoods are Bison Valley, Spring Arbor & a 3rd, Behind the Target Store in Lady Lake. Spring Arbor is not golf cart accessible. There are also neighborhoods, The Villages of Parkwood & Lakeside Landings which are not affiliated with The Villages, but children can live there.
Karl says
Thinly disguised real estate advertising. Very impressive if you subscribe to the “bigger is better” theory.
Dory May says
The article is very informative, can you tell me what 3 villages are designated family with under 19 allowed. What would the age of the parent have to be or isn’t that relavent?
Maddy says
Very informative…
Lily says
What are the 3 villages subdivisions that are designated as ” Family Unit” and are not subject to the under 19 restrictions ? Is what I would like to know.
Janice says
Spring Arbor on 466 near Rolling Acres Rd, Oxford Oaks on 466 near 301, Bison Valley and Parkwood off of Rt 101.
OldNassau says
How many miles of dedicated bike paths?
Dan says
There are no dedicated bike paths as of now. There are over 100 miles of paved paths called Multi-Modal Paths. These are for bikes, walking/jogging and golf carts only. They are mostly level but some inclines as you come through tunnels laid under regular roads so you don’t have to cross main roads with cars coming at you. If you want trail riding paths there are some good ones of those in nearby Ocala.
TJ says
What are the three Villages subdivisions that are designated as “family units” and are not subject to the under-19 restriction ?
Marvin says
Oxford Oaks and Parkwood villages.
Janice Niccolai says
Spring Arbor on 466 near Rolling Acres Rd, Oxford Oaks on 466 near 301, Bison Valley and Parkwood off of Rt 101.