This South Carolina city is one of the best places in the US to retire, report says

Aug. 24--South Carolina is home to one of the best places in the country to retire, a new report finds.

Greenville was named No. 10 in a study of safety, health care access and costs for older adults, according to findings published last week from SmartAsset.

To come up with its findings, the personal finance website says it examined data from 525 U.S. cities that are home to at least 65,000 people. It looked at tax information as well as figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and FBI, results show.

Greenville's cost of living helped it earn a top spot on the national list, according to SmartAsset.

The sales and income "tax burden" for older adults living in the city is 14.13%, one of the best among all cities studied, figures show. And housing costs made up 24.72% of residents' retirement income, the 87th-lowest percentage in the results.

"Both sports fans and art lovers have plenty to do here," SmartAsset said. "There is a Single A baseball team, the Greenville Drive, and the Greenville County Museum of Art has a large collection of American art."

It's not the first time a city in the Carolinas has gotten recognition as a retirement destination.

In March, SmartAsset named Raleigh, North Carolina, among the most popular cities where people ages 60 and older were moving, McClatchy News reported. The city earned a No. 7 spot in the national rankings, according to the results.

Earlier this year, the financial website in its retirement index listed Seneca as the best place to retire in South Carolina, The Island Packet reported. Seneca, roughly 40 miles southwest of Greenville, has a population of about 8,000.

In the latest study, SmartAsset says it examined the number of older adults, medical facilities and retirement communities in each of the 525 larger cities. The company also took a look at costs, crime rates and unemployment for people who are of retirement age.

"As of February 2019, over 20 percent of Americans aged 65 or older are working or looking for work, double the all-time low of 10 percent who were in the labor force in 1985," financial planning company United Income said.

Overall, the top place for retirees to live and work is Fort Myers, Florida, according to SmartAsset.

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