Educational only. This describes public statistics about populations. Nothing here changes what you personally must withdraw. For your situation, consult your CPA.
In short: In two ZIP codes in The Villages, Florida, more than half of all tax returns reported a taxable IRA distribution in 2023. In Palm Beach, the average withdrawal was $122,043. Nationally, the average distribution fell 1.5% while the number of people taking one rose 1.5%. And the 2022 finding that lower-income households outnumbered high earners among IRA withdrawers reversed in 2023.
The IRS posted its tax year 2023 ZIP code income statistics in late October. We published the state and county picture in August (Tax Year 2023 IRA Distributions). This page covers what only ZIP-level data can show: the neighborhoods where IRA withdrawals are concentrated, and how much they vary.
The retirement capitals
These are the ZIP codes where the largest share of tax returns reported a taxable IRA distribution (ZIP codes with at least 2,000 returns):
| Rank | ZIP | Place | Share of returns with an IRA distribution | Returns filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32162 | The Villages, FL | 61.4% | 29,310 |
| 2 | 32163 | The Villages, FL | 53.7% | 24,820 |
| 3 | 85622 | Green Valley, AZ | 53.4% | 3,690 |
| 4 | 38558 | Crossville, TN | 51.0% | 5,430 |
| 5 | 85375 | Sun City West, AZ | 50.9% | 14,730 |
| 6 | 34228 | Longboat Key, FL | 49.6% | 3,590 |
| 7 | 85263 | Rio Verde, AZ | 47.0% | 2,170 |
| 8 | 94595 | Walnut Creek, CA | 46.5% | 10,170 |
| 9 | 29909 | Okatie, SC | 46.0% | 14,970 |
| 10 | 92637 | Laguna Woods, CA | 45.8% | 10,340 |
Nationally, 10.4% of returns reported one. In ZIP 32162, it was six in ten.
The same two Villages ZIP codes also lead on total dollars: $520 million and $490 million in taxable IRA distributions, ahead of Palm Beach Gardens, FL (33418), Scottsdale, AZ (85255) and Bonita Springs, FL (34135).
Where the withdrawals are largest
Average taxable IRA distribution per return, among ZIP codes with at least 500 returns reporting one:
| Rank | ZIP | Place | Average distribution | Returns with a distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33480 | Palm Beach, FL | $122,043 | 1,870 |
| 2 | 34228 | Longboat Key, FL | $90,527 | 1,780 |
| 3 | 94027 | Atherton, CA | $88,081 | 700 |
| 4 | 34108 | Naples, FL | $84,876 | 3,340 |
| 5 | 90067 | Los Angeles (Century City), CA | $83,568 | 760 |
| 6 | 90077 | Los Angeles (Bel Air), CA | $83,049 | 810 |
| 7 | 33957 | Sanibel, FL | $81,891 | 1,210 |
| 8 | 32963 | Vero Beach, FL | $79,014 | 3,770 |
| 9 | 34103 | Naples, FL | $77,871 | 2,060 |
| 10 | 34102 | Naples, FL | $77,777 | 1,540 |
Seven of the ten are in Florida. The national average was $25,979.
The money is concentrated: the top 10% of ZIP codes account for 52.5% of all taxable IRA distribution dollars.
What changed from 2022
Measured on the ZIP product for both years:
- 16.4 million returns reported a taxable IRA distribution, up 1.5% from 16.1 million.
- $425.5 billion in total, essentially flat (+0.1%).
- $25,979 average per return, down 1.5% from $26,365.
More people took money out, and the typical withdrawal got smaller. The county data we published in August shows the same direction: the average fell 1.5% there too.
At the neighborhood level, the average fell in 55% of ZIP codes (among 9,147 ZIP codes with at least 500 returns reporting a distribution in both years). The median change was −0.7%. Individual ZIP codes swing far more than that from year to year, because one large withdrawal can move a ZIP's average. We don't rank single-year ZIP changes for that reason.
The bracket finding reversed
In tax year 2022, more returns under $25,000 of income reported a taxable IRA distribution than returns over $200,000. We reported it because it surprises people: IRA withdrawals look like a broad retirement pattern, not a wealthy-household one.
In 2023 that flipped:
| AGI bracket | Returns with an IRA distribution, TY2022 | TY2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Under $25,000 | 2.56 million | 2.35 million |
| $200,000 or more | 2.23 million | 2.52 million |
ZIP product, both years. The county product shows the same reversal.
Part of the change is simply more returns crossing $200,000: 13.4 million returns were filed in that bracket in 2023, up from 12.3 million. The $200,000-plus group took 36.7% of all IRA distribution dollars; the under-$25,000 group took 3.7%. The dollars skew wealthy, and in 2023 the headcount did too.
Read this before citing these numbers
- The field is taxable IRA distributions (IRS item A01400). It includes voluntary withdrawals and Roth conversions, and excludes non-taxable distributions and people who didn't file. These figures are the best public proxy for retirement-account drawdown, but they are not a count of required minimum distributions.
- ZIP data runs lower than county data. The IRS suppresses more at the ZIP level, so ZIP-product totals come in about 1.6% below the county/state figures in our August analysis ($425.5 billion here versus $432.2 billion there). Use the county figures for state and national totals, and this page for ZIP detail. We never mix the two in one comparison.
- $4.3 billion sits in the IRS's "other" ZIP bucket (ZIP codes with fewer than 100 returns, single buildings and nonresidential ZIPs). It counts in national totals but not in any ZIP.
- The address on a return isn't always where someone lives. Seasonal residents may file from either home.
Methodology
- Source: IRS Statistics of Income, Individual Income Tax ZIP Code Data, tax years 2023 and 2022 (
23zpallagi.csv,22zpallagi.csv), fields N1, N01400 and A01400. Amounts are reported in thousands of dollars and converted. - Place names come from the U.S. ZIP code reference data, not the IRS file.
- The cleaned state and ZIP tables and our processing pipeline are available on request: trigg@simplermd.com.
SimpleRMD builds RMD tools. This page is data reporting, not tax advice. If you have an RMD this year, the current rules and a free calculator are at simplermd.com/rmd-calculator.
Corrections policy: errors on this page will be corrected within 48 hours and noted in a dated changelog.