PHOENIX — It’s probably no secret to those already here.
But two of the Top 10 U.S. places to retire are in Arizona, at least the way WalletHub looks at it.
The online financial advice company looked at everything from the cost of living to number of places to go fishing. And when all was said and done, it rated Scottsdale the No. 2 place for those who are no longer working.
It’s not that it’s cheap to retire in Arizona. WalletHub found all Maricopa County communities it studied to barely be in the top third of affordable places.
If you want lower costs, the study suggests, go to Tucson.
But Scottsdale elbowed its way near the top through what the firm calls “quality of life issues.” And one big factor there involves what might fall into the category of having someone your own age to play with: One out of five Scottsdale residents is 65 or older, giving it a higher percentage in that category than any of the other 149 communities it studied.
Gilbert did better than Scottsdale when WalletHub looked at the rate of violent crime. Gilbert ranked No. 2 nationally — the lower the number, the lower the crime rate — with Scottsdale at No. 9 and Peoria at No. 10.
Among Arizona cities, Tucson scored the worst, though Phoenix was not far behind.
Tucson managed to get its No. 29 overall ranking by doing fairly well in several categories.
For example, it was near the top of the national chart in the number of hiking facilities on a per capita basis. And it did not do badly on the availability of public golf courses.
It also did better than every Maricopa County community on the availability of nurses, though not as well in terms of the number of dentists or family practice physicians.
But what really dragged down Tucson’s ratings was its rate of property crimes, worse than any other Arizona community.
WalletHub spokeswoman Jill Gonzalez said questions of everything from affordability to crime issues are important to all people, retired or otherwise. But she said academic experts told her staff there are special issues for retirees.
“They said make sure you have enough to do as well,” she said, saying that can be as important as being able to live well financially. And Gonzalez said that the number of people in the 65-plus age group is important so there are people “to hang out with.”
