“Retirement can wait” seems to be the sentiment in Texas, which dominates a new national list of cities with the most working seniors.
Five out of the top 10 cities on the list, the result of a new analysis by Provision Living, are located in the Lone Star State, where apparently they’d rather keep contributing to their 401k plans instead of drawing from them.
Plano tops the list with a quarter (25.4%) of its senior (age 65+) population still working. Garland (23.1%), Austin (22.8%), Dallas (22.5%) and Irving (22.4%) also make the top 10 list at No. 5, 6, 8 and 10, respectively. And it doesn’t stop there, as Lubbock (22%), Houston (22%) and Arlington (21.8%) place 11-13 on the list when extended to the top 25.
Following Plano in the top four nationally are Washington, D.C., Anchorage and Minneapolis.
As the average retirement age slowly creeps up in the United States, many Americans are faced with the sometimes harsh reality that they will be working later in life than originally planned.
This could be due to a variety of factors such as financial concerns, or simply wanting to continue working out of enjoyment. Regardless of the reason, it’s clear that a large number of seniors are still working in cities throughout the country. Provision Living’s list of the top 25 cities shows that at least 20% or more of the senior population is still in the workforce within those cities.
To determine the cities with the most seniors in the workforce, Provision Living, which operates 15 senior living communities in four states, recently analyzed Census Bureau data from over 100 cities with a population of 200,000 or more. From there the company was able to determine what percentage of each city’s senior population is currently in the workforce, as well as the cities where the senior workforce has grown the most in the past decade.
Surprisingly, large metro cities didn’t make much of an appearance on the list. Less than half of the cities within the top 25 have a population of 500,000 or more. In fact, cities like New York and Chicago didn’t even make the top 50, while Los Angeles placed 20th.
Fastest-growing senior workforce cities
The analysis also looked at cities that have experienced the most growth in terms of seniors in the workforce since 2009. Interestingly, Plano once again ranks high and comes in at No. 2 with 99% growth in its senior workforce since 2009, trailing only Durham, N.C. and its 109% growth.
Along with Plano, 10 other cities from the Top 25 list of cities with the most seniors in the workforce also appeared on the list of fastest-growing senior workforces, including: Anchorage, Austin, Durham, Huntington Beach, Lincoln, Minneapolis, Raleigh, Santa Clarita, Seattle and Yonkers. Every city on this list has experienced 60% or greater growth in its senior workforce since 2009.
Top 25 Cities with Seniors in the Workforce
The full Provision Living rankings and analysis can be seen here.
SEE ALSO:
• Top 10 Cities, States With Highest Financial Stress
• 10 Most Expensive U.S. Retirement Communities
• 10 Best and Worst States to Retire
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
