Colorado Springs is no stranger to superlatives. A top city for pet owners, veterans and weekend getaways, to name a few, the city last week earned another feather: 11th Best City to Retire, based on a survey by personal finance website WalletHub.

For the list, the company looked at "retirement-friendly" socioeconomic data for the 150 largest U.S. cities, considering factors such as the cost of in-home health and lifestyle services, employment and volunteer opportunities, and access to recreational activities for older adults. The Springs -- ranked above 15th-place Aurora and Denver, at No. 30 -- had especially favorable numbers when it came to jobs and activities for seniors.

This, of course, isn't the first time the city has been singled out for its appeal to the over-65 set. In 2013, it was ranked No. 8 in CNNMoney's selection of 10 best U.S. places to spend the golden years.

"Colorado Springs is a very desirable place to retire, not only for military but we have a lot of professionals, adult children that have moved their parents from other states to the Springs," said Amy Sufak, whose Red Energy Public Relations organized the erstwhile Showcase of Retirement Communities, a parade of homes-style event that featured the Springs' luxury retirement options. When Red Energy launched the showcase in 2009, some of those recently constructed communities had residency in the single digits. By 2012, many had waiting lists, Sufak said.

"We did market research all over the country and that's exactly why we put together that event here, because there were so many people interested in retiring here," she said.

The number of retirement communities that allow residents to "age in place" is another factor that will continue to lure seniors to the area, Sufak believes. Such communities have the infrastructure to handle evolving needs, from independence through end-of-life care.

"These places let you live independently in a community, but as you age and need more, you can move across the street into a different building, with nurses. That's a huge draw," Sufak said.

Thanks to an overall low cost of living and a thriving senior social scene, Florida cities dominated the top scale of WalletHub's 2014 list, with Tampa taking the top spot. Check out the full list at WalletHub.com.

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Top 10 for retirees

- Tampa, Fla.

- Grand Prairie, Texas

- Orlando, Fla.

- St. Petersburg, Fla.

- Scottsdale, Ariz.

- Overland Park, Kan.

- Port St. Lucie, Fla.

- Cape Coral, Fla.

- Plano, Texas

- Peoria, Ariz.

Source: wallethub

Coming Sunday

So, do lists such as the one on retirement released last week by WalletHub affect a city's reputation? IN BUSINESS

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