A Tradition of Excellence Recognized Nationwide

Residents enjoying the VUE.

For nearly 40 years, Willow Valley Communities has earned a nationwide reputation as a premier, award-winning 55+ senior living community. Residents, Residents’ families, and professionals within the senior living industry have celebrated Willow Valley Communities for our trusted tradition of excellence.


Recently, Willow Valley Communities was honored with two additional acknowledgments from renowned national organizations:

  • U.S. News & World Report, publisher of news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis, named Willow Valley Communities as a Best Independent Living Community in the nation in its inaugural Best Senior Living ratings for 2022–2023.
  • Fitch Ratings, a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary, and research, again affirmed Willow Valley Communities’ “A” rating with a Stable Outlook.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report and its survey provider collected data on more than 3,000 communities throughout the continental US and Hawaii. Residents and families were asked to rate their experiences on various aspects of senior living. From that data set, U.S. News analysts rated Willow Valley Communities as a “Best” in the category of Independent Living.


This “Best” Independent Living Community rating fits in perfectly with our Life Lived Forward philosophy. Willow Valley Communities Residents are continually rethinking retirement — embracing the idea of not looking back, but looking forward to the rich, thriving, passion-filled life ahead.


Just as important as the rating are the nearly 200 comments of praise and appreciation that Residents and family members added to their survey responses about their experiences at Willow Valley Communities. These comments, posted on the U.S. News & World Report website, are what are most meaningful to us.

Fitch Ratings

Willow Valley Communities has again received a coveted “A” rating with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings, a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary, and research. Based in New York City and London, Fitch Ratings is the predominant debt rating agency in the senior living sector. The “A” rating communicates overall financial health, stability, and confidence to the Residents of Willow Valley Communities, as well as to prospective Residents, as they assess the organization’s strength.


Fitch stated in its analysis that the “A” rating reflects the expected future resilience of Willow Valley Communities’ financial profile. The agency listed our unique national draw, modest pricing relative to our higher-end amenities, strong operating risk, history of solid operations and robust capital spending, and our Type-A Lifecare contract (providing personal care, nursing care, or memory support, should it be needed, with no change to a Resident’s monthly service fee because of the increased level of care).


Fitch also noted that the demand for services at Willow Valley Communities is indicated by its independent living occupancy above 90% across its more than 1,500 independent living residences. Additionally, Willow Valley Communities’ position as a destination community — with approximately half its Residents coming from outside of Pennsylvania, from about 40 different states — further insulates it from changes in the local economy or housing market.


Willow Valley Communities is humbled by the distinctions from these two respected national organizations. We wish to thank the hundreds of Residents and family members who took the time to voice their opinions on their senior living experience here, as well as our 1,400 professional Team Members. Day in and day out, they continue to dedicate themselves to providing an exceptional lifestyle to more than 2,600 Residents across our campus.

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