Finance, Maps

The Best States for Retirement

In 2017, Bankrate named New Hampshire the best state for retirees. A total of five factors were used in determining the best and worst states for retirees: cost of living, health care quality, crime rate, weather, and taxes. Bankrate compared these retirement metrics across all 50 states. Many southern states such as Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma ranked in the bottom ten worst states to retire in. The states that ranked towards the bottom tended to have high tax rates and even higher crime rates. Maine ranked second, next to Vermont with the lowest crime rate in the country. There seemed to be a positive correlation with a state’s rank and health care quality.

Interestingly, some states that are quite popular for retirees, such as Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, didn’t make the top 10. While Arizona placed a still quite high #12 on the list, Nevada and New Mexico were all the way down at #44 and #47. Alaska claimed last place spot due to its high crime rate, frigid weather, and low senior citizen population, among other factors. Florida, probably the U.S. state best known for its retiree population, ranked #17. See the map of all states and their rank below (green shades indicates a state that is ranked as overall better for retirees, red are those states that are not as good for retirees):

While many southern states ranked toward the bottom of the list overall, they were the places were retirees had the most purchasing power due to a relatively low cost of living. Fox Business determined how long a retiree could live on savings of $1 million. The most inexpensive cities, according to Fox Business are Houston, where $1 million would last 25 years and 11 months; Oklahoma City, 24 years and seven months; Austin, Texas, 24 years and six months; Tulsa, Oklahoma, 24 years and four months; and Memphis, Tennessee, 24 years and three months.

While this list is certainly illuminating, it may not take into account that many retirees weigh some considerations differently than others. For example, for many retirees nice year-round weather is their top concern. Someone from, say, New York, might not want to retire to even-colder New Hampshire. This is the reason why southwestern states (and Florida) are so popular for retirees. The list also looks at the crime rate and cost of living, but does not take into account that these metrics can vary wildly across a state or even across an urban area. Retirees may not want to live in the most densely-populated urban areas where crime and cost of living can be highest. See the complete list of cities by rank below:

Rank	State	Cost of living	Weather	Health care quality	Crime	Tax	Culture	Senior	Well-being
1	New Hampshire	40	45	4	3	7	6	14	2
2	Colorado	33	20	7	26	16	9	46	3
3	Maine	38	44	1	2	35	19	2	11
4	Iowa	14	36	9	15	20	35	9	10
5	Minnesota	30	47	3	14	43	7	34	4
6	Virginia	31	16	16	5	23	14	42	29
7	Massachusetts	45	29	5	17	40	3	24	9
8	South Dakota	26	40	18	20	3	34	20	15
9	Wisconsin	24	42	2	16	46	29	22	6
10	Idaho	5	31	20	4	22	42	37	19
11	Utah	16	19	8	24	30	20	49	7
12	Arizona	28	2	26	38	15	39	12	12
13	Nebraska	12	28	17	18	21	31	32	20
14	Vermont	43	49	15	1	39	4	4	22
15	Pennsylvania	35	35	14	12	36	22	5	21
16	North Dakota	25	48	22	11	18	25	30	5
17	Florida	27	18	30	39	17	24	1	16
18	Delaware	34	24	6	40	37	28	7	25
19	Rhode Island	42	26	10	9	42	21	11	17
20	North Carolina	19	11	12	29	33	40	29	26
21	Wyoming	15	41	44	8	2	23	41	35
22	Michigan	18	43	19	22	26	36	18	27
23	Texas	11	5	35	34	5	30	48	36
24	Kansas	8	14	24	32	29	41	33	33
25	South Carolina	29	7	11	44	9	45	15	30
26	Oregon	39	22	27	27	41	12	10	13
27	Tennessee	6	15	38	46	4	8	25	45
28	Missouri	9	23	23	41	25	27	19	41
29	Montana	32	46	34	28	12	26	6	24
30	Alabama	7	13	25	42	13	47	21	44
31	Washington	37	32	31	36	24	15	39	18
32	Connecticut	47	30	21	7	49	10	17	14
33	Ohio	17	38	32	23	32	32	16	43
34	Illinois	21	33	33	21	47	17	40	37
35	Georgia	13	8	36	35	19	37	47	40
36	Hawaii	50	17	13	43	38	5	8	1
37	New York	46	37	39	13	50	1	28	32
38	New Jersey	41	27	29	6	48	18	27	31
39	Indiana	4	34	37	30	28	44	35	39
40	Maryland	44	21	28	31	44	13	43	23
41	Mississippi	1	9	49	25	10	50	36	42
42	California	49	1	42	33	45	2	45	28
43	Oklahoma	3	6	43	37	11	38	31	48
44	Nevada	36	4	50	47	8	11	38	38
45	Kentucky	10	25	41	10	27	46	26	49
46	Louisiana	20	12	40	48	6	43	44	46
47	New Mexico	23	3	47	50	14	33	23	34
48	Arkansas	2	10	45	45	34	48	13	47
49	West Virginia	22	39	48	19	31	49	3	50
50	Alaska	48	50	46	49	1	16	50	8