8 PA Cities Among Best Places To Retire In 2021: U.S. News

PENNSYLVANIA — If you’re undecided about where to settle down post-retirement, look no farther than home.

Several Pennsylvania cities are among the best in the United States to retire in 2021, according to new rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

The new list evaluates the country’s 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on how well they meet Americans' expectations for retirement. Cities are ranked based on factors such as housing affordability, health care and overall happiness.

Pennsylvania metropolitan areas had a strong showing at the top of this year’s rankings, placing eight cities in the top 30.

While Lancaster was the only Pennsylvania area to crack last year’s top 25, seven Pennsylvania areas placed this year, largely due to the accessibility of high-quality health care facilities. Among them, Lancaster held steady at No. 5, while Allentown catapulted 29 spots to take No. 11.

All Pennsylvania cities on the list:

5. Lancaster

11. Allentown

13. Harrisburg

15. Reading

17. York

19. Philadelphia

21. Scranton

29. Pittsburgh

This year’s rankings are based on overall retirement scores calculated for each city. Retirement scores were determined using a weighted average of six indexes: happiness, housing affordability, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability and job market ratings.

Information on each index was collected via data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as U.S. News rankings of Best Hospitals.

Florida metro areas captured most of the top 10 spots this year. Despite decreases in health care, housing and happiness scores, Sarasota maintained the No. 1 spot due to increases in desirability, retiree tax and job market scores. Naples jumped two places to No. 2, while Daytona Beach landed at No. 3.

Here are the top 10 places to retire in 2021:

1. Sarasota, Florida
2. Naples, Florida
3. Daytona Beach, Florida
4. Melbourne, Florida
5. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
6. Tampa, Florida
7. Fort Myers, Florida
8. Port St. Lucie, Florida
9. Ann Arbor, Michigan
10. Pensacola, Florida

See the full list of Best Places to Retire.