NWA a top 25 metro for making investments

Northwest Arkansas is ranked in the top 25 for U.S. metro areas where residents are investing more. Meanwhile, Fayetteville is ranked No. 14 among U.S. cities where retirees can stretch $1 million further.

Financial technology company SmartAsset recently released studies on metro areas where people are investing more and cities in which a $1 million retirement fund lasts longer.

In Fayetteville, $1 million last 28.24 years in retirement, according to SmartAsset. The same amount of money would last 29.89 years in Conway, which is ranked No. 4 among U.S. cities. The study included more than 230 U.S. cities, and McAllen, Texas, was No. 1, with a $1 million retirement fund lasting 32.26 years. The study was based on average annual expenditures of seniors from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

Northwest Arkansas, or the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro, was ranked No. 23 out of 198 U.S. metro areas in which residents are investing more. This study analyzed IRS data on investment income, and Northwest Arkansas had the highest four-year increase in average capital gains among U.S. metro areas. Between 2013 and 2017, capital gains in Northwest Arkansas rose 698.1% from $14,192 to $113,270. The No. 1 metro area where people are investing more is Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla.

According to a recent Pew Research study, 52% of U.S. households are invested in the stock market, including 66% of households earning between $53,000 and $99,000.

In Benton County, the median income is $61,271, which is higher than any other county in Arkansas, according to SmartAsset. Loudoun County, Va., has the highest median income of any U.S. county at $129,588. The average median income for all U.S. counties is $57,652.