Canonsburg selected top town for retirees

April 1, 2016

Karen Mansfield
Observer Reporter

Many recreation opportunities and plenty of doctors make Canonsburg the top town in Pennsylvania for retirees, according to a survey by a New York financial technology company.

SmartAsset recently released its second annual study on the Best Places to Retire in Pennsylvania. Canonsburg came in first, ahead of Doylestown, Mechanicsburg and Uniontown.

Washington was selected fifth.

“It’s always a privilege and an honor to be selected and recognized as a top place to live,” said Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome. “We’ve always said Canonsburg is a wonderful place to live, work and play. For a small town, we have a lot to offer.”

To find the best places to retire, SmartAsset gathered data on tax rates, recreation and social opportunities for seniors, and availability of medical care.

SmartAsset looked at 186 towns and cities in Pennsylvania to develop its ranking.

The study was conducted based on zip code, which means municipalities including Cecil Township were included with Canonsburg, and North Strabane Township was among those included with the city of Washington.

“First, we looked at state and local tax rates, considering two types of taxes: income and sales. We calculated effective rates based on a typical retiree, earning $35,000 annually (from retirement savings, social security or part-time employment), and spending their disposable income on taxable goods,” Said Steve Sabato, spokesman for SmartAsset, which aims to help people make smarter financial decisions.

“Next, we determined the number of doctors’ offices, recreation centers and retirement centers per thousand residents in each area. Finally, we found the number of seniors in each area as a percentage of the total population,” he said.

Sabato said the final analysis ranked each county and city on these three factors, and calculated an average ranking for each area, weighting the three factors equally.

Canonsburg finished second in the ranking last year.

Rounding out this year’s top 10 places to retire in Pennsylvania were Lewisburg, Johnstown, Clarks Summit, Kennett Square and Butler.