Using data from financial services company and personal finance website Bankrate, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the best and worst states to retire. Bankrate analyzed multiple data points and assigned a weight to each category: affordability (40%), well-being (20%), culture and diversity (15%), weather (15%), and crime (10%).
According to the report, Florida ranks as the best place to retire among the 50 states. The state ranks best in culture and diversity, its best performing category. This category takes into account venues for arts, entertainment, and recreation as well as the population’s racial and ethnic diversity. Florida’s worst performing category is crime. In this category, which is based on both property and violent crime rates, Florida ranks 24th worst in the country.
Of the 21,216,924 people who reside in Florida, 20.5% are 65 or older, the second largest share among states, according to five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.
All data in this story is from Bankrate and the U.S. Census Bureau. A full methodological explanation is available here.
Overall rank | State | Best category | Best category ranking (of 50 states) | Worst Category | Worst category ranking (of 50 states) | Population age 65 and older (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Florida | Culture and diversity | 1 | Crime | 27 | 20.5 |
2 | Georgia | Weather | 4 | Culture and diversity | 37 | 13.9 |
3 | Michigan | Affordability | 1 | Well-being | 39 | 17.2 |
4 | Ohio | Affordability | 11 | Culture and diversity | 34 | 17.0 |
5 | Missouri | Affordability | 3 | Crime | 42 | 16.9 |
6 | Kentucky | Weather | 3 | Culture and diversity | 50 | 16.4 |
7 | Texas | Affordability | 9 | Culture and diversity | 48 | 12.5 |
8 | Tennessee | Affordability | 2 | Crime | 45 | 16.4 |
9 | Pennsylvania | Crime | 12 | Weather | 33 | 18.3 |
10 | South Dakota | Affordability | 15 | Weather | 41 | 16.7 |
11 | West Virginia | Weather | 8 | Well-being | 48 | 19.9 |
12 | Mississippi | Affordability | 4 | Well-being | 50 | 15.9 |
13 | Arizona | Weather | 1 | Crime | 41 | 17.6 |
14 | Iowa | Crime | 12 | Weather | 31 | 17.1 |
15 | North Carolina | Affordability | 16 | Well-being | 38 | 16.3 |
16 | Illinois | Well-being | 13 | Culture and diversity | 31 | 15.7 |
17 | Wisconsin | Crime | 12 | Weather | 38 | 16.9 |
18 | Indiana | Affordability | 12 | Culture and diversity | 43 | 15.7 |
19 | Oklahoma | Affordability | 6 | Culture and diversity | 46 | 15.7 |
20 | New York | Well-being | 5 | Affordability | 42 | 16.5 |
21 | Virginia | Crime | 9 | Culture and diversity | 40 | 15.4 |
22 | Wyoming | Crime | 7 | Weather | 49 | 16.4 |
23 | New Hampshire | Crime | 1 | Weather | 45 | 18.1 |
24 | North Dakota | Well-being | 16 | Weather | 46 | 15.3 |
25 | South Carolina | Weather | 16 | Crime | 46 | 17.7 |
26 | New Jersey | Well-being | 3 | Affordability | 46 | 16.2 |
27 | Nevada | Culture and diversity | 11 | Crime | 40 | 15.8 |
28 | Colorado | Well-being | 7 | Weather | 44 | 14.2 |
29 | Arkansas | Affordability | 8 | Well-being | 49 | 16.9 |
30 | Nebraska | Well-being | 19 | Weather | 37 | 15.7 |
31 | Utah | Well-being | 10 | Culture and diversity | 47 | 11.1 |
32 | Massachusetts | Well-being | 1 | Affordability | 47 | 16.5 |
33 | Idaho | Crime | 6 | Weather | 43 | 15.8 |
34 | Rhode Island | Crime | 7 | Affordability | 44 | 17.3 |
35 | Minnesota | Well-being | 15 | Weather | 42 | 15.8 |
36 | Alabama | Affordability | 10 | Well-being | 46 | 16.9 |
37 | Kansas | Affordability | 20 | Culture and diversity | 45 | 15.8 |
38 | Oregon | Culture and diversity | 6 | Affordability | 40 | 17.6 |
39 | Louisiana | Weather | 6 | Crime | 48 | 15.4 |
40 | Delaware | Culture and diversity | 2 | Affordability | 39 | 18.8 |
41 | Washington | Well-being | 9 | Affordability | 38 | 15.4 |
42 | Hawaii | Well-being | 2 | Affordability | 50 | 18.4 |
43 | Connecticut | Crime | 4 | Affordability | 48 | 17.2 |
44 | Maryland | Well-being | 4 | Affordability | 43 | 15.4 |
45 | Vermont | Culture and diversity | 3 | Affordability | 45 | 19.4 |
46 | Montana | Culture and diversity | 10 | Weather | 47 | 18.7 |
47 | New Mexico | Weather | 12 | Crime | 50 | 17.4 |
48 | California | Well-being | 6 | Affordability | 49 | 14.3 |
49 | Maine | Crime | 2 | Weather | 50 | 20.6 |
50 | Alaska | Culture and diversity | 26 | Crime | 49 | 11.9 |
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