Money Magazine: Best places to retire 2006: Lower Merion, PA snapshot

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Winners

Lower Merion, PA Population: 61,529 Population, age 50+: 24,170 Population growth, age 50+: 10.38%
Taxes
	City stats
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	3.07%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	3.07%
Retirement tax break from state?	Yes
State property taxes	Average
Sales tax	6.00%
State gas tax (cents per gallon)	12.0***
Housing
	City stats
Median home price	$452,500
Home price gain (2004-2005)	6.50%
Financial
	City stats
Median household income (per year)	$96,171
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$2,497
Quality of life
	City stats
Air quality index (% of days AQI ranked as good)	43.3%
Personal crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	12
Property crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	17
Personal crime incidents (per 100,000)	86
Property crime incidents (per 100,000)	1,741
Leisure and culture
	City stats
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	52
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	7,436
Bars (within 15 miles)	641
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	120
Libraries (within 15 miles)	172
Museums (accredited by AAM within 30 miles)	21
Colleges, universities and professional schools	42
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	22
Weather
	City stats
Annual precipitation (inches)	42.05
Clear days	94
High temp in July ° F	85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F	25.5°
Health***
	City stats
Hospitals (within 30 miles)	243
Doctors' offices	1,197
Body mass index (avg. for residents)	26
Cancer mortality (per 100,000, age-adjusted)	237.9
Cardiac mortality (per 100,000)	278.4
Meet the neighbors
	City stats
Median age	42.3
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	61.6%
Married	54.4%
Divorced	6.5%

**Gas tax notes:
Excludes 1.1 cent per gallon fee and 19.2 cent per gallon oil company franchise tax. ***County data

Data: OnBoard, FORTUNE. Details

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Additional data and consulting services provided by Bert Sperling's bestplaces.net.

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