Many Fort Worth 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, a quarter of Fort Worth seniors aged 65 and up are still employed, making Fort Worth the No. 31 city in the U.S. with the most working seniors.
About 24,300 Fort Worth seniors aged 65 and up are employed out of a total 96,883, or 25.1 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.
In third place was Dallas, with 30.3 percent of the senior population clocking in for work around the city.
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.
The report says the median household income of a senior citizen in Fort Worth is $52,145, 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."
Other DFW cities that made the list include Plano which ranked just 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.
Irving (No. 29) also has 25.1 percent of seniors actively employed in the city - the same percentage as Fort Worth - although that doesn't equate to the same number of seniors. The report says there are 5,273 working seniors in Irving, whereas populous Fort Worth has more than 4.5 times that amount of working seniors.
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.
