PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts city has been named among the 25 best places to retire in America in 2024.
Forbes published a new list of destinations after comparing more than 800 locales in America based on metrics including housing costs, taxes, healthcare, air quality, crime, climate change, and natural hazard risk.
While Forbes didn’t definitively rank the cities on its list, Massachusetts’ representation certainly has some serious claim to fame: Author Herman Melville wrote “Moby Dick” there and it’s the hometown of “The Hunger Games” actress Elizabeth Banks.
The Berkshire Mountains city of Pittsfield is the retirement destination that made Forbes’ list.
The pros of retiring in Pittsfield?
“Median home price $283,000, 28% below national median. High ratio of primary care physicians per capita,” Forbes wrote. “Good air quality. Somewhat walkable and bikeable. Long acclaimed for a big culture scene, mainly during summer.”
The cons of retiring in Pittsfield?
“Serious crime rate above the national average. State taxes estates above $2 million (raised this year from $1 million),” Forbes wrote. “State income tax is 5% for most couples, with Social Security excluded, but there is a new millionaire’s surtax of 4% that includes capital gains from the sale of house.”
Pittsfield, located 135 miles west of Boston and 40 miles southeast of Albany, New York, is home to about 43,000 people.
No other New England cities were named on Forbes’ list.
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