Forbes Ranks Nation's 25 Best Places To Retire: 2 PA Cities On List

PENNSYLVANIA — Two Pennsylvania cities were among the top 25 of the nation's best places to retire among the 950 localities Forbes has compared on how well the meet the needs of older Americans.

Bethlehem ranked third and Pittsburgh placed 15th.

The cost of housing was the primary factor in determining the ranking, Forbes said, citing National Association of Realtors data showing that since 2020, the median price of single-family homes nationwide has jumped 50 percent to $404,000.

Forbes described Bethlehem as a rejuvenated former steel center of 80,000 and college town (Lehigh University, Moravian College) in Lehigh Valley, 75 miles north of Philadelphia and 85 miles west of New York City.

The median home price is $334,000, 17% below national median. There is an above-average number primary care physicians per capita. Forbes said the city has good air quality, and a very low serious crime rate.

The negatives include a state inheritance tax that hits the entire estate and all heirs other than a house, and cold winters.

Forbes described Pittsburgh as an "old guard western Pennsylvania city of 304,000 full of rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio) and colleges (Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Chatham University)."

Among the city's attributes, according to Forbes: The median home price of $231,000 is 43 percent below the national median. Forbes also noted that the city has an excellent ratio of primary care doctors per capita. It's very bikeable and walkable.

Other pluses are Pennsylvania's 3.07 income tax and the state excluding Social Security benefits and most retirement income from levies.

Median home values are below the national median in 22 of the top 25 cities, which Forbes said was by design. Four of them — Iowa City, Iowa; Lincoln, Nebraska, Pittsburgh and San Antonio, Texas — have median values under $300,000.

Housing costs are higher than the national median in three of the cities on the list. The most expensive is Raleigh, North Carolina, with a median home cost of $440,000, which is 9 percent above the national median. The others are Madison, Wisconsin, a college town and the state capital, with a median home price of $408,000, about 1 percent above the national median. Pasco, Washington has a median home price of $406,000.

Median home prices in The Villages, Florida, are at the national median of $404,000.

Overall, the list features cities in 19 states in all four domestic time zones. Known for its frigid winters, Fargo, North Dakota, has been on the list in each of the 15 years since Forbes launched it. Pittsburgh, which also has chilly winters, has been on the list 13 of the 15 years.

Forbes also looked at state tax rates, prospects for the local economy, air quality, serious crime, the availability of primary health care doctors, and how well they encourage an active lifestyle by making it convenient to walk or bike.

Since 2000, Forbes has also looked at the risks posed by natural disasters and climate change. Cities at substantial risk, as measured by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were not considered, the news outlet said.

Here’s the full ranking:

1. Apache Junction, Arizona
2. Athens, Georgia
3. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
4. College Station, Texas
5. Columbia, Missouri
6. Fargo, North Dakota
7. Greenville, South Carolina
8. Iowa City, Iowa
9. Lawrence, Kansas
10. Lexington, Kentucky
11. Lincoln, Nebraska
12. Madison, Wisconsin
13. Newark, Delaware
14. Pasco, Washington
15. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
16. Raleigh, North Carolina
17. Rochester, Minnesota
18. San Antonio, Texas
19. Savannah, Georgia
20. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
21. Spokane, Washington
22. Tucson, Arizona
23. The Villages, Florida
24. Virginia Beach, Virginia
25. Winchester, Virginia