Global Courant
Many Florida cities remain popular retirement destinations, but a Pennsylvania city is the best place to spend your years after work.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the No. 1 city in which to retire, according to the recent US News & World Report.Best Places to Retire in the US“
US News & World Report evaluated the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the US, including Puerto Rico, using data from a variety of sources, including the US Census Bureau and the Tax Foundation. The report assigns an overall pension score to each city based on six factors:
Affordability of housingDesirabilityHappinessQuality of careTaxes for retireesLabour market
The researchers surveyed 3,100 people ages 45 and older about which of those categories would be most important to them in retirement and weighted those categories accordingly.
Lancaster scored particularly high marks in the healthcare category, but scored lower in the housing affordability category en route to an overall score of 7.2 out of 10, according to the analysis.
The city offers a combination of rolling farmlands and a bustling city center where art and culture events take place such as “first fridays,featuring exhibitions and performances by the local arts community. In addition, approximately 18% of the population is over the age of 65, according to the survey’s findings.
For those looking to save money on housing in retirement, those costs in Lancaster are below the national average. The median home price there is about $290,354, according to US News & World Report. Meanwhile, the national median home price as of the first quarter of 2023 is about $436,800, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank.
A second city in Pennsylvania, the state capital Harrisburg, is number 2 on the list. It scored slightly lower in the healthcare category, which dragged down the rankings, but received high marks in the housing affordability section.
Florida appears on the list for the first time Pensacola in third place. While the resort town received a slightly higher score on housing affordability, it did not score well in the health care category, resulting in a lower score.
Clearly, Pennsylvania and Florida dominate the top spots on the list of best places to retire. Retirees enjoy certain tax benefits in both states. Florida does not tax income and Pennsylvania does not tax retirement pensions and distributions from 401(k)s, IRAs, or Social Security, according to Kiplinger.
Here are the top 10 US cities for retirees, according to US News & World Report:
Lancaster, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg, PennsylvaniaPensacola, FloridaTampa, FloridaYork, PennsylvaniaNaples, FloridaDaytona Beach, FloridaAnn Arbor, MichiganAllentown, PennsylvaniaReading, Pennsylvania
While lists like these can be helpful when researching potential retirement locations, keep in mind that everyone’s ideal retirement is unique and shaped by different priorities. For example, you want to live closer to your family or move to a state with a lower cost of living than where you are now.
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