A recent study released by a New York-based financial technology firm ranked Farmville as one of the most tax-friendly places for retirees in Virginia.

The SmartAsset study, which ranks cities on a Retirement Tax Friendliness Index — taking into account property, income, fuel, sales and Social Security tax data — lists Farmville as the second most tax-friendly place in Virginia for retirees.

“Farmville has a low real estate tax rate and has maintained that rate for years,” Farmville Mayor David Whitus said. “We don’t have other, locally imposed taxes, that seniors must pay. Meals, lodging and cigarette are all optional taxes.”

Excluding Prince Edward County taxes, Farmville’s real estate tax rate is 12 cents per $100 of assessed value. Personal property taxes are levied on businesses only. Farmville also levies taxes on meals, lodging and cigarettes.

According to the study, Farmville ranked below Lexington, which was No. 1. Below Farmville was Richlands at No. 3.

When looking at Farmville, SmartAsset Vice President of Content A.J. Smith said the low property taxes stood out as a factor in the rankings.

“We hope that people look at this study and start thinking, ‘Huh. Where I live can affect my finances and retirement,’” Smith said.

According to a Smart-Assett press release, the firm looks at how tax policies impact retirees with $50,000 in annual income. Hypothetical retirees would get $15,000 each from Social Security benefits and 401(k) or IRA income and $10,000 each from private pensions and wages.

SmartAsset calculated the effective property tax rate, or real estate tax rate, by dividing median property tax paid by median home value for each city.

“In order to determine sales tax burden, we estimated that 35 percent of take-home (after-tax) pay is spent on taxable goods. We multiplied the average sales tax rate for a city by the household income less income tax. This product is then multiplied by 35 percent to estimate the sales tax paid,” the firm said in the release.

Based on the methodology, annual income tax paid totals $5,985, and the property tax rate is .61 percent. Sales tax totals $816 and fuel tax totals $816.

“Overall, the cost of living here is less. Insurances are less, things like your homeowners insurance, automobile insurance,” Town Manager Gerald Spates said. “If you live in town, you get services that you don’t get if you don’t live in town, but I think our combined tax rate with the county is relatively low.”

Services in town include trash collection, recycling, and public water and sewer. Spates said the town maintains its owns streets.

He said the town’s tax rates are “relatively low compared to other communities.”

“I think we’ve got a lot of amenities you don’t find (in) other towns this size,” Spates said, acknowledging the specificity toward senior citizens. “The universities add a lot to it, both Longwood and Hampden-Sydney as far as providing venues for people to do things. I think they’re tremendous assets.”

Spates listed downtown Farmville as a big part of the retiree-friendly environment.