The top 10 best small metros for successful aging
Put this in your running checklist of reasons why it’s great to live in Durham: The Milken Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Santa Monica, Calif., ranked Durham ninth overall for smaller metros in its first “Best Cities for Successful Aging” report.
The institute analyzed data for 78 indicators of success, including health care, housing, transportation, educational opportunities and cultural experiences, then weighted the indicators based on what was most important to seniors, with health care and financial security topping the list.
According to the report, which includes Chapel Hill in the metro area, our senior population is 56,630, or about 11.22 percent of the total population. We ranked seventh in health care and 14th in transportation indicators, scoring top marks for our quality hospitals, pool of providers, growing economy, good public transportation and learning environment. In the health care indicators sub-categories, we ranked fourth in number of doctors, orthopedic surgeons and nurses. Our score was even higher for ages 80-plus, putting us at No. 8 for that age group overall.
The “Take Away” section of the report sums up all those numbers by stating: “Home to Duke University and part of the famed Research Triangle, Durham is an excellent choice for overall access to health care and medical innovation and for enjoying all the benefits top-notch educational institutions have to offer.”
We couldn’t agree more.
