Butler rated a top-10 Pa. city for retirees
Plenty of recreation opportunities and a healthy number of doctors make Butler one of the top 10 cities in the state for retirees, according to a survey by a New York company.
SmartAsset recently released its second annual study on the best places to retire. Butler finished 10th behind municipalities such as Kennett Square and Clarks Summit. Canonsburg was judged the best city in which to retire in Pennsylvania, according to Smart Asset.
“SmartAsset is a financial tech company that offers automated advice on big personal finance decisions like home buying and retirement,” said Asees Singh of SmartAsset. “Along those lines, we choose to analyze topics we think will be helpful for folks navigating these big decisions, and provide comprehensive information.”
To find the best places to retire, SmartAsset gathered data on three separate regional factors that affect the quality of life for retirees.
“First, we looked at state and local tax rates, considering two types of taxes: income and sales,” said Singh. “We calculated effective rates based on a typical retiree earning $35,000 annually (from retirement savings, Social Security or part-time employment) and spending their disposable income on taxable goods.
Singh said, “Next, we determined the number of doctors' offices, recreation centers and retirement centers per thousand residents in each area. Finally, we found the number of seniors in each area as a percentage of the total population.”
Singh said the final analysis ranked each county and city on these three factors, and calculated an average ranking for each area, weighting the three factors equally.
“It looks like Butler's high rank was largely due to the city's high number of doctor's offices and recreational facilities per 1,000 people. The city's averages for these two categories were well above the Pennsylvania state averages,” said Singh.
“It's all news to me, but Butler is not just a great place to retire. The actual city is a great place to live or retire,” said Butler Mayor Thomas Donaldson.
“It makes me very happy considering I'm going to be 65 in November,” said Stan Kosciuszko, president of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce.
“The Butler Health System has been judged one of the top 20 in the United States. I would say the proximity to a major metropolitan area plays into it,” said Kosciuszko of Butler's ranking.
“Butler is one of the unique places for heart surgery and other surgeries,” agreed Donaldson. “You can get all the surgeries you need right here.”
“The criteria seems to be the same used five years ago when the Smithsonian Institution picked Butler as one of the most livable places in the United States,” Kosciuszko added.
“Things are getting better. Butler is a great place to live whether in or around the town,” said Donaldson.
“The Best Places to Retire study sheds light on locations across the country and in each state that are great options for folks looking to retire,” said Singh.
“We hope people will look at the results of our research to find a great place to retire that's best for them, wherever their desired location is, which may not always be a place that has sandy beaches and hot weather year-round,” he said.
Well Suited for Seniors
City Tax Doctors/1,000 People Rec Centers/1,000 People Retirement Centers per 1,000 people % of Seniors Best Place to Retire Index
1. Canonsburg 10.7% 13.0 1.9 0.4 19.1% 93.89
2. Doylestown 10.8% 13.0 3.0 0.2 28.1% 93.85
3. Mechanicsburg 11.0% 9.8 2.3 0.9 14.9% 93.40
4. Uniontown 10.8% 9.7 1.5 0.5 17.7% 92.55
5. Washington 11.0% 7.4 2.0 0.7 14.1% 92.21
6. Lewisburg 11.0% 9.0 1.2 0.7 12.4% 91.93
7. Johnstown 10.9% 7.4 1.3 0.4 18.9% 91.81
8. Clarks Summit 10.8% 6.1 2.2 0.4 20.3% 91.78
9. Kennett Square 10.8% 4.9 2.0 1.0 11.5% 91.75
10. Butler 10.8% 7.3 2.1 0.5 13.2% 91.62
