Retirement Communities in Prior Lake, Minnesota

CaringScore for Prior Lake, MN

CaringScore was designed to help millions of Americans find the best places to retire, age in place, or receive eldercare. The CaringScore for retirement communities in Prior Lake was based on more than 50 factors in three key categories: health, cost, and livability. By compiling and analyzing this data, Caring.com is able to rate the quality of life you or a loved one might expect should you choose retirement communities in Prior Lake.

CaringScore can range from 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and provides a quick way to compare cities, counties, and even specific zip codes. With a CaringScore of 4.4, Prior Lake rates below average for those seeking retirement communities.

The charts below highlight a few of the factors we used to calculate the CaringScore for Prior Lake. Choose a category score to learn more.

Physicians Per Capita

Cost of Healthcare Index

Sunny Days Per Year

HealthScore for Prior Lake, MN

HealthScore, a component of the overall CaringScore for retirement communities in Prior Lake, rates a region on a scale of 1 (less healthful) to 10 (more healthful). It's specifically tailored to anyone looking for retirement communities. The HealthScore for Prior Lake is based on the availability of healthcare resources, air and water quality, the overall health of the local population, and other key factors. With a HealthScore of 4.3, Prior Lake rates below average for those seeking retirement communities.

Easy access to physicians -- especially geriatricians and other key specialists -- is important to older adults. At just 74.2 physicians per capita, Prior Lake trails the national average by 66.3 percent. Prior Lake trails the national average in geriatricians per capita by 46.2 percent, with 0.7, and scores 88.7 percent below the national average in specialists per capita, with 2.2. These medical specialists include cardiologists, oncologists, and orthopedists. The average life expectancy from birth in Prior Lake is 80.3 years -- 3.1 percent higher than most of the country. Air quality in Prior Lake -- one factor in gauging the healthfulness of a region -- is average, and water quality -- another key measure of Prior Lake's environmental health -- trails the national average by 87.3 percent.

Doctors Per Capita	Prior Lake, MN	Nat'l Avg
Physicians	74.2	220.5
Geriatricians	0.7	1.3
Cardiologists	0	7.7
Oncologists	0	3.5
Orthopedists	1.5	7

Average Life Expectancy

CostScore for Prior Lake, MN

CostScore, part of the overall CaringScore for retirement communities in Prior Lake, rates the cost of living for older adults on a scale of 1 (more expensive) to 10 (less expensive). It's specifically tailored to people looking for retirement communities. The CostScore for Prior Lake is based on data such as the average monthly cost of retirement communities in the region, the cost of housing and healthcare, regional tax rates, and other key factors. With a CostScore of 3.6, the costs associated with retirement communities in Prior Lake are generally more expensive than the national average.

Because of the broad range of housing, service, and healthcare options available at retirement communities, no average monthly cost data is available for Prior Lake. The entry fee or purchase price for an independent living community can range from $50,000 to $500,000 or more, and typically requires an additional monthly service fee of $1,000 to $3,000 on average. The cost of living indices below provide the best proxy for comparing costs of retirement communities in Prior Lake to the rest of the country. Overall, the cost of living for Prior Lake indexes at 24.0 percent higher than the national average. Average healthcare costs are 4.0 percent more expensive than the national average, and the cost of housing is 66.0 percent more expensive than average.

Cost of Living	Prior Lake, MN
Aggregate Index	124
Healthcare Index	104
Housing Index	166
Food Index	109
Utilities Index	102
Transportation Index	107

Cost of Healthcare Index

LivabilityScore for Prior Lake, MN

LivabilityScore makes up part of the overall CaringScore for retirement communities in Prior Lake. On a scale of 1 (less livable) to 10 (more livable), it's a rating of the quality of life in a region, specifically tailored to those looking for retirement communities. The LivabilityScore for Prior Lake is based on weather, crime rates, economic factors, average age of the population, and other key demographics. With a LivabilityScore of 5.5, Prior Lake is on par with the national average for retirement communities.

Weather is an important factor in choosing the best place for retirement communities. The sun shines an average of 199 days each year in Prior Lake, 2.9 percent fewer sunny days than the rest of the U.S. sees. With an average temperature of 3°F in January, winters tend to be colder in Prior Lake than in other parts of the country, and summers are often more temperate than other places, averaging 85°F in July.

Local crime rates are another important indicator. The violent crime rate in Prior Lake is 75.0 percent lower than the national average, and the property crime rate index is 4 of 10, which is in line with the national average. At $91,154 per year, the population of Prior Lake earns a better than average median household income. Prior Lake has an unemployment rate of 6.60 percent, roughly 27.5 percent lower than the national average. And about 7.02 percent of the population in Prior Lake is of retirement age -- 65 or older -- which trails the national average by 46.7 percent.

Sunny Days Per Year

Avg Temperature (°F)

Property Crime Index

Amenities Per Capita	Prior Lake	Nat'l Avg
Parks	15.5	136.1
Libraries	5.3	18.8
Places of Worship	54.8	220.5
Public Transit	169.8	110.4
Grocery Stores	49.8	97.7
Pharmacies	0	13.8

Percent of Population Over Age 65