A new Milken Institutereport on Successful Aging ranks two large metro areas in Iowa as among the best cities for successful aging.
The institute scored the top 20 metro areas in the top 150 highest-populated areas in the U.S. Joel Wulf, Assistant Director for the Iowa Department on Aging, says Omaha-Council Bluffs ranked third, with Des Moines ranked sixth in the study.
He says criteria used in the report included access to wellness opportunities and cost of living. Wulf says Iowa has a lot of resources for retirees who want to become entrepreneurs.
"A lot of older adults are starting small businesses and the climate here supports that. We have great Regents’ Universities and many other private universities who offer education that are easily accessible to older adults. Iowa has great cultural and sporting events so on balance it’s a terrific place to retire and to grow older.”
Wulf says several smaller Iowa cities were ranked as well, with Iowa City coming in at #2, Ames at #11 and Dubuque at #14 in the next population tier.