Retirement

Best and worst states states to retire 2016

Written by
Claes Bell
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Bankrate’s “Best and Worst States to Retire” list ranks all 50 states according to their cost of living, crime rate (violent and property crimes), health care quality, state and local tax burden, personal well-being for seniors and weather (temperature, percentage of sunshine, humidity). The overall ranks of 1 to 50 go from best to worst. For more on how we ranked the states, check out our story “How we ranked best and worst states to retire.”

Check out how your state ranks for retirement
Overall rank State Cost of living Crime rate Community well-being Health care quality Tax rate Weather
1 Wyoming 18 5 5 32 3 8
2 South Dakota 26 11 6 9 2 29
3 Colorado 32 25 4 13 16 3
4 Utah 15 22 8 11 30 6
5 Virginia 20 4 17 14 24 10
6 Montana 33 19 3 27 (tied) 13 9
7 Idaho 2 2 36 38 22 7
8 Iowa 13 12 14 6 20 39
9 Arizona 27 41 9 21 15 5
10 Nebraska 14 20 20 15 21 21
11 Maine 38 3 22 3 37 27
12 North Dakota 29 10 15 12 18 43
13 Wisconsin 25 13 13 2 47 46
14 Minnesota 30 15 7 5 42 48
15 New Hampshire 39 7 21 1 7 49
16 North Carolina 21 33 23 16 31 19
17 Kansas 8 32 25 36 28 17
18 South Carolina 24 48 19 23 9 16
19 Tennessee 6 47 37 33 4 24
20 Pennsylvania 31 16 33 24 38 22
21 Texas 17 38 11 48 6 23
22 Rhode Island 41 18 26 7 43 12
23 Vermont 42 1 29 10 41 35
24 Mississippi 1 23 43 43 10 42
25 Delaware 34 42 27 8 35 18
26 Massachusetts 45 21 30 4 39 11
27 Nevada 37 44 38 46 8 4
28 Florida 28 39 12 29 17 28
29 Michigan 9 29 39 20 26 45
30 New Mexico 22 50 16 47 14 1
31 Alabama 7 43 28 27 (tied) 12 41
32 Kentucky 5 9 49 42 29 33
33 Georgia 10 35 41 40 19 20
34 Illinois 23 24 35 26 46 36
35 Washington 36 36 24 17 25 40
36 Ohio 16 27 47 30 32 37
37 Indiana 3 30 46 39 27 34
38 Missouri 12 37 45 35 23 38
39 California 49 31 10 41 45 2
40 New Jersey 43 8 32 18 48 15
41 Maryland 40 34 34 19 44 13
42 Connecticut 46 6 18 25 49 14
43 Alaska 47 46 2 37 1 50
44 Oklahoma 4 40 48 50 11 26
45 Hawaii 50 26 1 22 36 32
46 Louisiana 19 49 42 49 5 44
47 Arkansas 11 45 44 45 34 30
48 Oregon 44 28 31 34 40 31
49 West Virginia 35 14 50 44 33 47
50 New York 48 17 40 31 50 25

Sources: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Gallup-Healthways; Council for Community and Economic Research; FBI; Tax Foundation; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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