Senior Citizens enjoy perusing ‘lists of favorites’ that we find online. CNN-Money recently published a list of America’s best small cities, and identified reasons for their choices: plenty of jobs, great schools, safe streets, low crime, lots to do, charm, and other features that make a town great for raising a family. Seniors may want to check out these cities for thye amenities available to them as well.

CNN-Money’s list of favorite small cities includes

  • Eden Prairie, MN
  • Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
  • Newton, MA
  • Bellevue, WA
  • McKinney, TX
  • Fort Collins, CO
  • Overland Park, KS
  • Fishers, IN
  • Ames, IA
  • Rogers, AR

If you focus only on the averages, life in the typical American town frankly doesn’t seem so hot right now. The median home continues to lose value. Cash-strapped state and local governments are cutting services. And unemployment, at 9.3%, is still high.

But those bummer statistics obscure one important-and encouraging-fact: There are plenty of outliers. MONEY found them through its annual search for the best places in America, which this year focused on the nation’s small cities (those with populations of 50,000 to 300,000). Reporters crunched reams of data to find the optimal

combo of job opportunities, fiscal strength, top-notch schools, low crime, good health care, lots to do, and many other factors that help make a town great for retiring and entertaining family. MORE AT CNNMONEY.COM

Then I found the 10 best places for single seniors to retire. The cities in this top 10 list have the most single seniors over 55. In Pittsfield, MA, 52% of the population over 55 is single; Florence, SC, comes in a close second.

Here are the top 10 cities and some demographics:

Pittsfield, Mass.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 52.4 percent
  • Single women: 14,237
  • Single men: 7,869

Florence, S.C.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 49.1 percent
  • Single women: 18,409
  • Single men: 7,516

Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, N.J.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 47.3 percent
  • Single women: 11,285
  • Single men: 6,044

Jackson, Miss.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 47.3 percent
  • Single women: 39,034
  • Single men: 16,329

Springfield, Mass.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 47 percent
  • Single women: 57,928
  • Single men: 28,194

Miami–Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 46.9 percent
  • Single women: 474,305
  • Single men: 224,768

Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna, Calif.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 46.3 percent
  • Single women: 9,778
  • Single men: 6,304

Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 46 percent
  • Single women: 87,432
  • Single men: 40,672

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 46 percent
  • Single women: 88,957
  • Single men: 45,637

Columbus, Ga-Ala.

  • Percent of the over-55 population that is single: 45.9 percent
  • Single women: 20,779
  • Single men: 8,791

The entire list, and an interesting article can be found here on the US News.com website.

Tags: best cities to retire, senior citizens travel, senior travel blog