Which Are the Best States to Retire in the US?

Retirement has been a big question for all Americans. After working for so many years, it can be difficult to figure out where to spend your retirement years.

Some people decide to retire and live close to their loved ones while others want to move to a completely new state and create new experiences. 

If you are struggling to find the perfect state to move out after your retirement then the new study by Bankrate can be of great help. 

 The study reveals that Iowa is the best state to spend your retirement years. This research has categorised all the US states by measuring several factors including weather and quality of healthcare. 

Bankrate mentions: “Our index measures affordability, wellness, quality and cost of healthcare, weather and crime.” According to this list, the worst state to retire is Alaska which is followed by New York, California and Washington. 

These ranks were assigned by quantifying the various categories with affordability holding 40% of the weightage. The study mentions: “Bankrate analyzed multiple data points and assigned a weight to each category, including: affordability (40%), overall well-being (25%), quality and cost of healthcare (20%), weather (10%) and crime (5%).”

To the surprise, Florida didn’t even qualify in the top 5 states. The Sunshine State ranked 8th on the Bankrate’s list with a 35 score for affordability, 21 for the cost of healthcare, 3 for wellbeing and weather, and 27 for crime. 

Here is the list of the top 10 best states for retirement: 

Source: Bankrate

The most common reason that Americans move after retiring is known to be high cost of living in many states. Bankrate mentions: “The common narrative has been that retirees leave colder or high-cost states such as New York, New Jersey and California for traditional retirement destinations with warm weather, a relatively low cost of living and other perks for seniors.” 

“And while that continues to be the case in 2023, experts say older Americans shouldn’t rule out places that aren’t traditionally top of mind for retirement,” it added.