GOOD: SmartAsset confirmed what we’ve known for years: That our region is a good place to live.

Recently, the financial technology company stated that McKean and Elk counties are among the best places in Pennsylvania for living on Social Security.

“Planning where you’ll spend your retirement can be difficult, especially for folks who will be relying heavily on Social Security as a main source of income,” said Steve Sabato from SmartAsset. “There are, however, places where Social Security goes further than others and in a new study, SmartAsset has delved into the data to find out where.”

This is the fourth annual study conducted by SmartAsset that looked at Social Security income, cost of living data and taxes across counties to figure out where folks were “getting the most mileage out of Social Security.”

In fact, McKean County, ranked seven of 10, has a cost of living that totals $17,349 with annual Social Security at $17,829, while Elk County, ranked three, has an $18,189 cost of living and $18,709 annual Social Security, according to SmartAsset.

The top county is Wayne, located in the eastern part of the state.

This isn’t the first time SmartAsset has highlighted northern Pennsylvania. Bradford has ranked among the top 10 most affordable municipalities to reside in Pennsylvania.

SmartAsset earlier this year reported that the city stands out at number six with number one being Shamokin in Northumberland County and Munhall in Allegheny County as number 10.

Bradford’s average closing costs are $2,680; annual property tax, $1,308; annual homeowner’s insurance, $304; average annual mortgage payment, $2,538; median income, $35,551; and affordability index 53.85, according to SmartAsset.

SmartAsset’s methodology included looking at closing costs, real estate taxes, homeowners insurance and mortgage rates. The company found the total cost over the course of five years of closing costs, taxes, insurance and mortgage payments for the average home in every county in the United States and every city with a population greater than 5,000. Analyzers then took a five-year cost as a proportion of median household income in every county and city to figure out affordability.

For more information — including a Social Security calculator to help estimate how much in Social Security you can expect when you retire — visit

https://smartasset.com/retirement/social-security-calculator#pennsylvania