Best Cities for Successful Aging

Description:

A project of the Milken Institute, which ranks large and small areas on a common set of indicators of age-friendliness and the well-being of the older population. From the website at http://successfulaging.milkeninstitute.org/:

"• Safe, affordable and convenient environments. We compiled statistics on cost of living, employment growth, jobless rates, income distribution, crime rates, alcoholism, and weather.

• Health and happiness. We looked at a range of factors, including the number of health professionals, hospital beds, long-term hospitals, and facilities with geriatric, Alzheimer's, dialysis, hospice, and rehabilitation services. We also examined hospital quality and affiliation with medical schools. To determine the general wellness of a community, we studied the rates of obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's, smoking, and mental illness and looked at the availability of recreation and other healthy pursuits.

• Financial security, including opportunities for work and entrepreneurship. We examined each area's tax burden, small-business growth, poverty levels, and employment rates for those 65-plus, and the data on reverse mortgages. We reviewed employment opportunities and factors tied to encore careers.

• Living options for mature residents. We compiled statistics on the costs of homeownership and rental housing, nursing homes and quality nursing care, assisted living facilities, and home health-care providers.

• Mobility and access to convenient transportation systems. We studied commute times, fares, the use of and investment in transit for the public and for older residents specifically, and the number of grocery stores and other key retailers.

• Beneficial engagement with families and communities and physical, intellectual and cultural enrichment. We compiled statistics on volunteerism, and we reviewed indicators reflecting access to fitness and recreational facilities, training and education, enrichment programs focused on older adults, museums, cultural institutions, libraries, and YMCAs, as well as the proportion of the population that is 65 and older."

Resources in this Indicator

Covers Years:

2014 - 2017

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