{"id":211892,"date":"2026-06-05T20:55:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211892\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T20:55:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:55:17","slug":"pennsylvanias-affordable-college-town-offers-retirees-quiet-suburbs-and-nature-walks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211892\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania’s Affordable College Town Offers Retirees Quiet Suburbs And Nature Walks"},"content":{"rendered":"

When seeking a tranquil and affordable retirement, Pennsylvania \u2014 one of the states that doesn’t tax Social Security income<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 is worth considering.\u00a0More specifically,\u00a0World Atlas<\/a>\u00a0named State College, Pennsylvania one of the 10 best small towns to retire in that state. State College is located in the Happy Valley region, an area that earned its name for its economic stability during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

Retirees may appreciate the lower costs of living in this town.\u00a0BestPlaces<\/a> awarded State College a cost-of-living score of 95.4, indicating that living expenses there are\u00a04.6% lower than the U.S. average. Meanwhile,\u00a0Livingcost<\/a> shows the average cost of living in 2026 as $2,121 monthly for a single person, with rent and utilities costing\u00a0$1,396 and food adding up to\u00a0$533 per month. Although it’s easy to waste money at restaurants<\/a>, State College does offer some\u00a0affordable eat-out options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The United States Census Bureau<\/a> reports that just\u00a06.8%\u00a0of the population in State College falls into the 65-and-up demographic. That said, plenty\u00a0of lovely, quiet, retiree-friendly neighborhoods exist in the town. For example, there’s Toftrees, which Nextdoor<\/a> gives an affordability rating of 78\u00a0and a friendliness rating of 91.\u00a0Meanwhile, the Holmes-Foster neighborhood gets an affordability rating of 77 and a friendliness score of 93.\u00a0Finally, there’s Foxpointe\/Hunter’s Chase, which is rated 76 in affordability and 91 in friendliness.\u00a0Moreover, the town offers plenty of opportunities to enjoy outdoor serenity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more: 2026 Retirement Destinations In The US, Ranked Worst To Best<\/a><\/p>\n

Enjoy serene retirement and nature’s beauty in State College\"Mount<\/p>\n

Mount Nittany covered with trees and the surrounding meadow – Alex Buma\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Plenty of free or low-cost parks and museums exist in State College. Retirees can enjoy the\u00a062-acre Millbrook Marsh Nature Center<\/a> and the Arboretum at Penn State,<\/a> with its 10-acre themed H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens and 14 acres of walking paths and meadows. Meanwhile,\u00a0Mount Nittany Conservancy<\/a>\u00a0encompasses nearly 1,000 acres and offers hiking opportunities (although some of the\u00a0trails can be physically challenging). The Penn State University campus also contains attractive gardens, eye-catching architecture, and nine museums. For example, the Palmer Museum of Art<\/a>\u00a0has\u00a0exhibitions of American and European art and offers sensory-friendly hours and kits.<\/p>\n

Health and fitness options also abound in the town. State College is home to the Centre Region Active Adult Center,<\/a>\u00a0where over\u00a0500\u00a0members engage in various\u00a0free\u00a0and paid recreational activities. Meals at the center are available for $3 daily, and van\u00a0transportation costs $1 a day.\u00a0Retirees often regret moving to the suburbs<\/a>\u00a0if it makes transportation difficult or less affordable, and\u00a0CATARIDE<\/a>, a branch of the local transit authority,\u00a0provides affordable public transportation for people aged 65 and up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus,\u00a0State College is quite walkable. Walk Score<\/a>, which analyzes pedestrian routes to amenities and grants points for convenient distances, calls the city a Walker’s Paradise and gives it a score of 95 out of 100.\u00a0Such a high score means that people can run daily errands without a car. Moreover, quality healthcare is nearby. State College’s Mount Nittany Medical Center won HealthGrades’<\/a> Outstanding Patient Experience Award in 2026.<\/p>\n

Found this helpful? Subscribe to the Money Digest newsletter<\/a> and unlock your financial potential. And add Money Digest to your preferred sources<\/a> for smart money insights!<\/p>\n

Read the original article on Money Digest<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When seeking a tranquil and affordable retirement, Pennsylvania \u2014 one of the states that doesn’t tax Social Security…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[92913,92912,3743,28,30,29,43298,13189],"class_list":["post-211892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-friendliness","tag-mount-nittany","tag-penn-state","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-retirees","tag-state-college"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}