Thinking About Retiring? This Is the Best State in America for Retirees

by Clare Trapasso

A retired man enjoying his coffee on his backyard deck with his husky dog — Getty Images

Forget Florida. The hottest place to retire in 2024 is Pennsylvania.

Seven of the 10 best places for retirees are in the Keystone State, according to a recent report from U.S. News & World Report. Despite not boasting the warm weather and beaches of Florida, Pennsylvania offers affordable home prices, a reasonable cost of living, and a strong health care system.

Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Pittsburgh, PA
Getty Images

“For those near retirement and in retirement, everyone seems to be thinking about affordability,” says U.S. News personal finance expert Beverly Harzog. This “isn’t surprising given the fact that housing prices are high right now, mortgage rates are high right now.”

U.S. News looked at housing affordability, health care, retiree taxes, desirability, the job market, and the happiness of residents in the 150 largest metropolitan areas to come up with its list. Places that had more reasonably priced homes were ranked higher as this was a top concern of older Americans. (Metros include the main city and surrounding towns, suburbs, and smaller urban areas.)

Pennsylvania’s median home list price was just $296,625 in October—far below the national price of $425,000. The state also doesn’t tax retirement income from pensions, 401(k) accounts, and individual retirement accounts. In addition, income from Social Security is tax-exempt.

The Pennsylvania metros “are all accessible to top quality health care, which is very important to retirees,” says Harzog. “You can enjoy the lower cost of living yet have access to larger cities for anything else you might want to do.”

The state capital of Harrisburg, which offers lots of outdoorsy activities, was named the best place in the nation to retire, moving up one spot in the annual rankings. The median home price in the metro was $322,400. The city is right near Hersheypark, a popular attraction.

Harrisburg at sunset, Pennsylvania — The median home price in Harrisburg is $322,400.
Getty Images

Harrisburg received high marks for the quality of its health care, the happiness of residents, and low taxes for retirees. It’s also fairly affordable for those on a fixed income.

Most of the homes in the city are single-family houses and townhouses, although there are some condos and multifamily homes for sale.

The metro was followed by Reading, PA, and Lancaster, PA, which fell from the top spot last year to third place.

“Florida is still a great place to retire, but it fell back [on our list] due to affordability issues and due to the level of extreme weather events,” says Harzog.

The 10 best places to retire in 2024:

Harrisburg, PA, $322,400
Reading, PA, $347,671
Lancaster, PA, $375,000
Scranton, PA, $239,495
Allentown, PA, $370,450
New York, NY, $729,500
York, PA, $322,450
Daytona Beach, FL, $399,900
Youngstown, OH, $168, 675
Pittsburgh, PA, $246, 750

The post Thinking About Retiring? This Is the Best State in America for Retirees appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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