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Best States to Retire
Adam McCann, Financial WriterJan 24, 2022
Retirement might be the end of your career, but it doesn’t have to be the end of financial security or life satisfaction. Retirement generally coincides with the age at which we may receive Social Security or pension benefits. However, not everyone can retire when they want to. In fact, 27% of non-retired adults haven’t saved any money for retirement, though not necessarily through any fault of their own.

But in addition to when to retire, a good question to ask is where. Finding the best states to retire can be difficult without doing lots of research. Even in the most affordable areas of the U.S., most retirees cannot rely on Social Security or pension checks alone to cover all of their living expenses. Social Security benefits increase with local inflation, but they replace only about 40% of the average worker’s earnings.

If retirement is still a big question mark for you because of finances, consider relocating to a state that lets you keep more money in your pocket without requiring a drastic lifestyle change. To determine the best states to retire, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 47 key indicators of retirement-friendliness. Our analysis examines affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life.

Table of Contents
Main Findings
Ask the Experts
Methodology

Main Findings
1
1
50
50
State Rank
Florida 1
Virginia 2
Colorado 3
Delaware 4
Minnesota 5
North Dakota 6
Montana 7
Utah 8
Arizona 9
New Hampshire 9
Idaho 11
South Carolina 12
Wyoming 13
South Dakota 14
Wisconsin 15
California 16
Missouri 17
North Carolina 18
Massachusetts 19
Iowa 20
Pennsylvania 21
Alabama 22
Ohio 23
Kansas 24
Nevada 25
Hawaii 26
Maine 27
Vermont 28
Connecticut 29
Maryland 30
Michigan 31
Nebraska 32
Indiana 33
Texas 34
Georgia 35
New Mexico 36
Alaska 37
Oregon 38
Tennessee 39
Washington 40
Louisiana 41
West Virginia 42
Arkansas 43
Rhode Island 44
Illinois 45
Oklahoma 46
Kentucky 47
New York 48
Mississippi 49
New Jersey 50
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Best & Worst States to Retire
Overall Rank State Total Score Affordability Quality of Life Health Care
1 Florida 59.41 4 5 27
2 Virginia 59.32 9 7 13
3 Colorado 59.27 11 21 4
4 Delaware 56.34 6 35 15
5 Minnesota 55.85 36 3 1
6 North Dakota 54.51 25 16 16
7 Montana 54.44 14 18 31
8 Utah 54.23 19 20 26
9 Arizona 54.17 15 32 24
9 New Hampshire 54.17 34 2 8
11 Idaho 53.63 13 19 36
12 South Carolina 53.57 3 38 35
13 Wyoming 53.49 18 13 37
14 South Dakota 53.48 22 33 11
15 Wisconsin 52.72 32 10 17
16 California 52.60 30 24 12
17 Missouri 52.13 20 30 29
18 North Carolina 52.06 10 26 38
19 Massachusetts 51.77 45 1 3
20 Iowa 51.37 33 9 20
21 Pennsylvania 50.15 37 4 25
22 Alabama 49.93 1 45 50
23 Ohio 49.52 27 15 39
24 Kansas 49.30 28 28 33
25 Nevada 49.29 5 41 41
26 Hawaii 48.89 39 31 6
27 Maine 48.74 44 11 9
28 Vermont 48.71 48 6 2
29 Connecticut 48.57 42 27 5
30 Maryland 48.55 41 14 14
31 Michigan 48.48 31 25 34
32 Nebraska 48.39 35 22 22
33 Indiana 48.07 23 29 40
34 Texas 47.70 29 37 32
35 Georgia 47.64 8 40 42
36 New Mexico 47.56 24 46 30
37 Alaska 47.03 38 36 10
38 Oregon 46.89 43 17 18
39 Tennessee 46.64 2 48 48
40 Washington 46.22 46 8 23
41 Louisiana 46.03 7 47 46
42 West Virginia 45.63 17 43 45
43 Arkansas 44.43 16 48 43
44 Rhode Island 44.35 40 39 19
45 Illinois 44.27 47 23 21
46 Oklahoma 43.97 21 44 44
47 Kentucky 42.49 26 42 47
48 New York 42.47 50 12 7
49 Mississippi 41.17 12 50 49
50 New Jersey 40.27 49 34 28
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.