Provo tops nation as best large metro area for ‘successful aging’

A new index says that the best large metro areas in the nation for "successful aging" include many of the usual suspects: New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. But at tip top of the list, unexpectedly, is Provo — the metro area with the lowest percentage of senior citizens nationally.

Also, Salt Lake City is No. 6 on the list, making Utah — home of the nation’s lowest median age because of its many children — the only state to have two metro areas in the Top 10 in rankings released Tuesday by the Milken Institute, a California-based think tank that says it helps business, philanthropy and policy leaders with ideas to create prosperity.

Provo Mayor John Curtis says that honor is a bit unusual, coming on the heels of another study that recently proclaimed Provo as the "youngest" among the nation’s larger cities. "So we mentally have a paradigm that this is a place for youth and kids. But it’s nice to have validation that we also have a great place to live for the grandparents of those kids." Salt Lake Tribune