15 Most Livable Big U.S. Cities: AARP

AARP's Public Policy Institute has just issued the latest edition of its list of top-100 livable communities across the U.S. It is part of the AARP Livability Index platform, a web-based tool that scores every neighborhood and community in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the services and amenities that affect people's lives the most as they age. "Older adults overwhelmingly want to stay in their current homes and communities as they age, but most of society isn't prepared to address the needs of a rapidly aging population," Rodney Harrell, AARP's vice president of family, home and community, said in a statement. "The AARP Livability Index shows that all communities have room to improve to ensure that residents of all ages are active, engaged, and supported, particularly when it comes to affordable housing options." Launched in 2015, the AARP Livability Index platform scores livability by using more than 50 national data sources across seven categories: housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement and opportunity. The tool measures every city, county and town against 61 indicators of livability, ranging from monthly housing costs to environmental pollution, opportunities for social connections to the presence of age-friendly community plans. ThinkAdvisor took a look at the cities within AARP's categories of "large communities," with 100,000 to 499,999 people, and "very large communities," with 500,000 people or more. These categories comprised 368 cities, counties and towns. See the gallery for the 15 most livable big cities in the U.S., according to AARP.