Austin Among Cities With Most Working Seniors

AUSTIN, TX — Austin is among the top 10 cities in the nation with the most seniors still in the workforce, a new analysis has found.

Researchers with Provision Living senior communities analyzed cities with populations of 200,000 or more to find which had the most people age 65 and up that were still working. The research was conducted amid a national trend marked by an increasing retirement age. The list of top 25 cities shows at least 20 percent of the senior population there still in the workforce.

Austin came in 6th place in the rankings, sandwiched between the Dallas suburb of Garland, Texas, and Durham, N.C. Analysts found 22.8 percent of Austin's seniors still in the workforce of the total segment of 76,788.

Researchers found myriad reasons attributable to the longer working life for many seniors, including financial need or simply a desire to continue working for enjoyment. Whatever the reasons, Texas emerged as one of the states with the most working seniors — with five out of the top ten cities having the most robust, graying workforce. In addition to the 5th and 6th rankings, respectively, for Garland and Austin, Dallas and its Irving suburb also made the top 10 list in the 8th and 10th slots respectively.

Researchers expressed surprise that more large metro areas weren't strongly represented on the list, with less than half of the cities within the top 25 having a population of 500,000 or more. Chicago and New York City, for instance, didn't even crack the top 25, according to the analysis.

The analysis also examined cities experiencing the most growth in terms of the senior workforce since 2009. Austin ranked highly in that reckoning — clinching the 3rd spot overall — with a 95 percent growth of that workforce since 2009. Comparatively, growth of the senior population grew at a rate of 53 percent in the same examined period.

The Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, ranked 2nd in that regard. The growth of that city's workforce swelled by 99 percent since 2009, with a 65 percent senior population growth.

"As the retirement age continues to increase it will be interesting to see how these rankings evolve over the next several years," researchers wrote. "But for now, it’s clear to see that seniors living within these cities have work ethic in their DNA.

To read the full report, click here.

In determining its findings, Provision Living analyzed data from cities with populations of at least 200,000 or more contingent on U.S. Census Bureau data. According to the analysis, the top 25 cities with the most working seniors are:

Graphic courtesy of Provision Living.

Here's another chart showing where the senior workforce has grown the most:

Graphic courtesy of Provision Living.