Office News
Dallas is No. 3 in the U.S. with the highest number of 'unretirees'
Dallas seniors are still punching the clock.
Many Dallas seniors are still punching the clock well past retirement age. According to "Cities with the Most Working Seniors," a new employment study by business website ChamberofCommerce.org, nearly a third of Dallas seniors aged 65 and up are still employed, making Dallas the third-highest city in the U.S. with working seniors.
More than 44,300 Dallas seniors aged 65 and up are employed out of a total 146,297, or 30.3 percent of the city's senior population.
The No. 1 city in the U.S. with hard-working oldsters is Alexandria, Virginia, located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, where 36.8 percent of its seniors still employed. Coming in second was Tallahassee, Florida, with 30.9 percent, just barely edging Dallas out.
To determine their ranking, the site examined the percentage of seniors aged 65 and over who were actively employed within the last 12 months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Their analysis included data from 170 of the nation’s most populous cities.
Other DFW cities that made the list include Plano which ranked just behind Dallas at No. 6 overall, with 28.9 percent of the city's senior population currently in the workforce. That amounts to 10,178 seniors out of a total 35,245.
Arlington came in at No. 11 with 27.1 percent or 13,333 employed seniors in the workforce (it has a sizable senior population of 49,153).
Frisco came in at No. 17 with 26.2 percent or 5,180 of its seniors still toiling away. Frisco's relatively high percentage of working seniors might come as a surprise, considering the suburb was recently named one of the best cities for retirees.
The report says the median household income of a senior citizen in Dallas is $47,826, and hints at the rising cost of living coupled with personal extenuating circumstances leading to a new trend of "unretiring" seniors within the Dallas-Fort Worth workforce.
"Deciding when to retire is one of the most important financial and personal decisions that workers can make," the report's author said. "Before making the leap, make sure you have factored in your savings, social security benefits, spending habits, economic volatility and how your social life will change after retirement."
Four other DFW cities earned spots in the report. Irving (No. 29) and Fort Worth (No. 31) each have 25.1 percent of seniors actively employed, although that same percentage amounts to entirely different numbers of seniors in each city: 5,273 seniors in Irving, versus 24,301 seniors in the more populous Fort Worth.
Garland was No. 33 with 25 percent of the senior population under employment. McKinney ranked No. 38, with 24.6 percent of seniors employed in the workforce.
The top 10 U.S. cities with the most working seniors are:
- No. 1 – Alexandria, Virginia
- No. 2 – Tallahassee, Florida
- No. 3 – Dallas, Texas
- No. 4 – Irvine, California
- No. 5 – Washington, D.C.
- No. 6 – Plano, Texas
- No. 7 – Anchorage, Alaska
- No. 8 – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- No. 9 – Overland Park, Kansas
- No. 10 – Madison, Wisconsin
ChamberofCommerce.org is a digital site for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The full report and its methodology can be found on chamberofcommerce.org.
