Affluence and access to great recreational opportunities are the common factors in areas where people routinely live into their 80s.

By Bill Briggs, SwitchYard Media

Collier County, Fla

Unemployment: 6.0%.
Median Home Value: $317,200
Median Household Income: $56,876
Life expectancy: 84.62 females

Amid the tropical environs of Florida’s gulf coast, the seat of Collier County — Naples — has been called one of the 10 best places to retire by AARP. But that ranking is more about the well-planned perks enjoyed by the county’s retirees, not just by the sunshine and citrus they’re absorbing.

AARP, which advocates for Americans 50 and older, plugged the area for its bevy of life-extending amenities, including affordable health plans, exercise habits and doctors per capita. Of course, there’s money here, too. On Marco Island, a pretty, offshore slice of the county, the median household income is $63,201, reports city-data.com, a demographic-tracking website.

 

A sustainable lifestyle

Living well may be the best revenge, but living long is just as sweet. In some places, the two maxims intersect.

Demographers have found that in many of the nation’s most affluent locales, residents also enjoy some of America’s highest life-expectancy rates. In most cases, elevated income brings better access to leading doctors. But a lifestyle including cleaner air and top-tier recreational opportunities also plays a role.

Take a good whiff of the good life in 10 counties where Americans enjoy the best longevity, based on the comprehensive data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.

Unemployment rates, median home prices and household income are taken from Census figures and other government sources.