(AP) – So – you’re about to retire. Your mortgage is hopefully paid off. And with any luck, your kids are out of the house.
That leaves only one pressing question: where to?
Thankfully, new research from Global Residence Index takes into account a bunch of factors, inspired by the OECD rankings, to determine the best states to retire in the United States.
At the top of their list: Washington, the Evergreen State.
If you don’t like rain, well, that’s no problem either. There are plenty of good options with a variety of weather conditions. The study looked at air and environment quality, life expectancy, violent crime reports, Medicaid spending and 65-plus population in each and every state.
“Retirement is a crucial stage of someone’s life and choosing a place that is happy, healthy and safe is imperative,” a spokesperson from Global Residence explained.
“There are hundreds of factors to be accounted for when it comes to living a positive and prosperous life, especially during retirement. Community, environment, safety and health are some of the vital factors to consider when choosing the best state to retire in. This data depicts an accurate representation of the places that will provide the best quality of life for the older generation.”
The Top 10 Places To Retire in The U.S.
Despite its strong relation to the elderly, Florida didn’t make it into the top 10 best states to retire. There are some strong contenders for those who like sunny weather, though, like Hawaii and California.
Here are the top 10 places to retire in the U.S.:
- Washington
- Minnesota
- Massachusetts
- Hawaii
- Oregon
- New York
- California
- Vermont
- Connecticut
- New Hampshire
Washington earned its top spot by ranking in the top ten for five out of the seven key factors. It had the second highest life expectancy in the whole country at 79.2 years.
Minnesota grabbed the number two spot largely based on its huge amount of social support. That’s a technical way of saying it’s great for stuff like exercise, volunteerism and insurance.
Nature lovers will want to take a hard look at Massachusetts, ranked third-best in environmental quality.
Fourth on the list is America’s Florida on steroids: Hawaii. The state ranked first in the country for air quality and life expectancy at 80.7 years. Plus, you get to live in Hawaii.
Despite ranking at 27 for the number of violent crimes reported in 2021, Oregon kept it weird enough across the other categories to qualify as the fifth-best state to retire in.
Want to live out your Big Apple dreams in your golden years? New York had the highest Medicaid spending out of every US state at 75.4 billion dollars in 2021 which helped to cement its place at number six on the list.
In seventh place came California, topping out the largest 65-year-plus population in the entire country – 5.96 million. What better state to get really, really into wine in your retirement?
Vermont reports the second lowest amount of violent crimes in 2021 throughout the U.S. It helps that it also has the eighth-highest life expectancy in the country.
Connecticut is the ninth-best state to retire in the US. The Nutmeg State hit the top ten in both social support and life expectancy. Its air quality was a little lacking, though, coming in at number 33.
The tenth-best state to retire in the US is New Hampshire. The Granite State has the twelfth best air quality in the US, as well as ranking the tenth highest for social support. And the number of people without insurance in the state fell from 6.3% to 5.1% of the population between 2019 and 2021.
Top 5 Worst States To Retire in The U.S.
The South seems to be dominating the low end of the state rankings. Fans of Yellowstone might be surprised. Despite the wide open spaces, Wyoming may not be the place to live out the rest of your days.
Here are the top five worst states to retire in the U.S.:
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- West Virgina
- Wyoming
Congratulations, Alabama – you’re number one at something. Alabama has the fourth-worst life expectancy in the country at 73.2 years.
It also cracked the bottom ten in air quality, making it the worst state to retire in the U.S.
Tennessee and Oklahoma also have poor life expectancies, at 73.8 years and 74.1 years, respectively.
The state of West Virginia was second to only Mississippi when it comes to the lowest life expectancy in the country at 72.8.
Wyoming had the third least amount of violent crimes reported in 2021. Unfortunately, it scored low in every other category, including, strangely, air quality.
Wherever you choose to spend your golden years, it’s good to know there are plenty of options out there. Who knows, you might even decide there’s no need to go anywhere.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.