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Approaching retirement? Here are the cities where seniors are most financially secure - and only one...
Updated
Retirees are better off living in cities in Arizona, Kentucky and Oklahoma than cities in the Northeast, a new study has revealed.
Mesa, Arizona, is the city in the US where seniors are most financially secure, according to SmartAsset - followed by Louisville and Oklahoma City.
The technology company analyzed poverty rates, housing, income and government assistance data for over-65s in 37 of the country's largest cities. It then ranked each city in how financially secure it is for older Americans.
Many of the largest cities in the US ranked at the bottom of the list.
✓ Boston came in last place - where under half of older Americans own a home and the senior poverty rate is pushing 20 percent.
Mesa, which is located just east of Phoenix, topped the ranking, in part, as it is the city with the highest percentage of senior homeownership - at 79.6 percent.
✓ It also boasts the lowest percentage of over-65s reliant on food stamps, at just 5.5 percent, and the second-lowest percentage of senior poverty at just over 10 percent.
A high percentage of older residents in Oklahoma City and Louisville also own their home - at 78.3 percent and 77.9 percent respectively.
This is also the case in Indianapolis and Albuquerque, which placed fourth and fifth in SmartAsset's ranking.
Some 76 percent of retirees in Indianapolis are homeowners, compared to 76.2 percent of seniors in Albuquerque.
On the other end of the spectrum, New York City, which ranked 35th out of the 37 cities, has the tightest housing market for seniors.
The study found it has the lowest rate of homeownership at 45.2 percent, and the second-highest rate of seniors who are housing-cost burdened.
This means more than half pay more than 30 percent of their gross income toward housing.
Over 65s in New York City are also particularly reliant on food stamps - which are utilized by a quarter of seniors.
SmartAsset also found retirees on a fixed income are most housing-cost burdened in many major Californian cities.
In Los Angeles, which ranked second last in the study, over half - some 51.9 percent - of seniors spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs.
Of the top ten cities ranked by the study, Jacksonville was the only one located in the Sunshine State.
While Florida is considered by many to be the quintessential retirement state, experts are increasingly suggesting it may not be the best place to pitch up for your later years.
While the weather is desirable, it is especially vulnerable to natural disasters like hurricanes, meaning its home insurance premiums are more expensive than anywhere else in the country.
Homeowners paid an average annual premium of $7,788 in 2022, according to insurance agency Insurify - almost five times the national average of $1,636.
And even though the Sunshine State state imposes no income tax, citizens may see themselves being taxed in other ways even less friendly to retirees - including on purchases and on their homes.
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