Photo provided by Kiplinger
Picking the best place to retire is a personal decision that no amount of number-crunching can make for you. However, a close look at the factors that matter most to retirees — in particular those tied to health, safety and economic security — can help eliminate from the running the least attractive places to retire. With this goal in mind, we asked data aggregator Find The Best to help us rate all 50 states in terms of how well each suits the unique needs of retirees.
Our rankings penalized states that have higher rates for crime, poverty and unemployment, as well as higher living costs. We also took into account life expectancy of retirees and the size of the retirement-age population. Finally, we weighed the tax situation for retirees in each state.
After factoring in all of the criteria, we found many Northeastern states near the bottom of our rankings due to high taxes and living expenses, especially related to health care. Retirees hoping to head West may be equally disappointed. The following ten states might be great places to work or visit, but judged purely as retirement living destinations, they hold the least appeal.
All 50 states were evaluated on nine factors: percentage of population over 65, life expectancy, crime, poverty, unemployment, median apartment rent, median home value, health care costs and taxes. FindTheBest collected data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Economic Policy Institute. Tax rankings were based on Kiplinger's Retiree Tax Map.
