U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in retirement rankings and consumer advice, has named Scranton as one of the 2024 Best Places to Retire. Scranton ranks 4^th in the overall rankings.

“It’s gratifying to have U.S. News confirm what we here in Scranton know – this is a welcoming, nurturing community with housing options that are more achievable than most other places,” said Mayor Paige G. Cognetti. “We’re honored to be named a ‘Best Place to Retire’ and will keep working hard to offer even more value to existing and new residents.”

This year’s list evaluated the country’s 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on how well they meet Americans’ expectations for retirement, with measures including affordability, health care, desirability, and overall happiness.

“The decision of where to spend your retirement years requires much consideration for many retirees,” says Beverly Harzog, personal finance expert at U.S. News. “The Best Places to Retire rankings provides support to retirees by highlighting places that most meet their wants and needs.”

The six measures factored into this year’s rankings were weighted based on a public survey of individuals across the U.S. who are at or approaching retirement age (45 and older) to find out what matters most to people when they’re considering where to retire. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA National Risk Index, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sharecare and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings.

This year, affordability is most heavily weighted out of the six factors in the 2024 Best Places to Retire methodology, including happiness, health care quality, retiree taxes, desirability, and job market ratings.