(Credit: Cavan Images / Getty Images)
When it comes to affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life, Florida wins out as the best state to retire, according to WalletHub’s 2022 Best States to Retire report.
WalletHub compared states across 47 key indicators of retirement-friendliness. Under affordability, factors considered included cost of living and tax-friendliness. Quality-of-life factors included the risk of social isolation, the existence of an elderly-friendly labor market, access to public transportation, weather, entertainment and crime rates. Healthcare factors considered included vaccination rates, availability of medical specialists, life expectancy, obesity rates and more.
Along with Florida, rounding out the top five states for retirees were Virginia, Colorado, Delaware and Minnesota (No. 5).
Of those top five states, Florida also ranked as the state with the highest percentage of its population aged 65 or more years, whereas Delaware tied for fifth with Montana. Colorado, however, was among the top five states with the lowest percentage of older adult residents; that list also includes Georgia, Texas, Alaska and Utah.
New Jersey landed at the bottom of the best states for retirement, followed by Mississippi, New York, Kentucky and Oklahoma (No. 46) in the WalletHub report.
Mississippi topped the list of states having the lowest adjusted cost of living, followed by Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas and Oklahoma (No. 5). Hawaii had the highest adjusted cost of living, but it also boasts the highest life expectancy. Other states with high living costs include California, New York, Massachusetts and Alaska (No. 46).
Potential senior living residents still interested in working beyond 65 might consider South Dakota, Vermont, Alaska, Nebraska or Massachusetts, which have the highest percentage of its workforce aged 65 or more years. States with the lowest percentage of older adults in the workforce included West Virginia, Ariona, Florida, Michigan and Alabama.
For older adults who value cultural entertainment, New York and California had the most museums and theaters per capita, whereas Arkansas and West Virginia were among the states with the fewest museums and theaters.
