Ten years of the AARP Livability Index platform and a base of 1,000-plus members of the national AARP age friendly network are now yielding important data. For a study released in August 2025, researchers Xue Zhang of Penn State University and Mildred Warner of Cornell University used data from the platform to compare communities that joined the AARP age friendly network with those that did not. They discovered real and quantifiable progress among those that participated.

AARP’s Livable Communities team promoted the research in their newsletter, which goes one step further than the spotlighted stories to demonstrate the progress that network members have made in addressing challenges and the value of having access to wide-ranging local data. AARP notes that the study also highlights the limitations, as communities alone cannot solve every challenge.

The analysis examined 646 communities in the AARP age friendly network that had AARP Livability Index data for both 2015 and 2024. The sample covered 10 states and included 211 counties and 425 localities. We were heartened by the results: 70% of the 646 places had an increase in their overall livability score in the period studied.

Where did they see the impact? In areas where communities had the most control — such as AARP Livability Index categories of neighborhood, engagement, and opportunity.  For instance, the study found improvement in accessibility and safety issues, including access to grocery stores, parks, and exercise opportunities, and a decrease in crime and traffic collisions.

Further detail is available in the full research report here.