The 10 best states for retirees aren't what you'd expect
Affordability, weather, and healthcare were key factors in Bankrate's rankings.
The Northeast was strongly represented in the top 10.
In order to enjoy your retirement, it's important to know where you can live your best life.
But while conventional wisdom might suggest heading to retiree-heavy communities in warm-weather states like Florida and Texas, a study from Bankrate suggests some less sunny states offer retirees a sunnier future.
Bankrate broke down the best states for retirees based on categories like affordability, weather, and healthcare. By their calculation, Florida is nowhere near the top 10 — and neither are many Southern states known for their warmer weather and plentiful retirement communities.
It's important to note that each of the categories were weighted differently. But while weather has the second-highest influence in rankings behind affordability, Florida actually ranks low for weather, and its positive tax ranking wasn't enough to pull it up from the bottom.
Affordability is the most-weighted category by far, while weather, neighborhood safety, and healthcare are closely weighted together as second-, third-, and fourth-most important.
Bankrate financial analyst Stephen Kates explained that natural disasters and rising home-insurance costs played a large role in Florida's exclusion from the top 10.
"All states along the Gulf have propensity to get hurricanes, which pushed those states far down the rankings," Kates told Business Insider.
" Florida's high home-insurance costs are very, very relevant for retirees who may not have a mortgage, but that's a really high fixed cost for them," he added.
Florida and other seemingly retirement-friendly states like Arizona and Texas all ended up in the bottom half of the list. Meanwhile, nearly half of the states in the top 10 are located in the Northeast, and all of them are north of the Sun Belt.
Bankrate's estimates found that Northeastern states are generally safer and have better healthcare than Southern states.
"When you think of retirement states, we all think of warmer weather states," Kates said. "But when you think about it, Massachusetts has unbelievable healthcare — so does Vermont, and Maine does as well. In terms of age, it's an older population certainly up there. Those are things that really boosted them."
Kates noted that states like Florida and Arizona have more infrastructure in place to welcome retirees, so an exodus of Boomers is unlikely. And while affordability is still the name of the game, other factors have become more important.
"The heart of this study is people should consider all of these things," Kates said. "They should know enough about what state they're going to go to. That these are factors that they're understanding and including in their own assessment."
Here are the 10 best U.S. states for retirees, according to Bankrate. Median home-sale prices are from Redfin.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
42 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Backlash to Delta's AI pricing shows the tightrope companies walk when it comes to AI
When Delta last month said it was ramping up its use of AI to set fares, the backlash from customers was swift. It demonstrated a common problem companies face in the age of AI: how to adopt new technology (and brag about it to please shareholders) without freaking out consumers. Delta has said it is not using AI to set different prices for different individuals based on their personal data. Instead, the airline says AI is being used to improve existing dynamic pricing practices that are already used across the industry. "There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing, or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal information or otherwise," the company said in a statement provided to Business Insider. Travelers were still spooked. Online, they complained about the potential for price gouging, and lawmakers sent a letter demanding answers from Delta, citing concerns about data privacy and the potential for price discrimination. "It sounds very dystopian to me," Brent McDonald, a lawyer based in Salt Lake City and a frequent Delta flyer, told Business Insider. McDonald said in cities like Salt Lake, which is a major hub for Delta, there are not a lot of options for direct flights. "With that monopoly power, it could be very abusive to use AI to maximize the amount of money they'll get from each customer," he said. Tim Sanders, vice president of research insights at G2, told Business Insider, "When you say you have artificial intelligence in a consumer product, it raises red flags with consumers." Investors, on the other hand, tend to love it since it can lead to efficiency gains. "Delta, in an effort to impress its investors, stepped into a PR backlash," he said. Consumers don't trust AI, so messaging is key Industry experts who spoke to Business Insider said Delta's lack of details in its initial public discussions of using AI led some consumers to worry about potential worst-case scenarios. On Investor Day in November, Delta said about 1% of its network had fares set using AI. Delta President Glen Hauenstein said, "The initial results show amazingly favorable unit revenues" and that, eventually, "we will have a price that's available on that flight, on that time to you, the individual." On Delta's second-quarter earnings call in July, Hauenstein said AI was now being used to set prices on about 3% of its domestic network and that the goal was to get to 20% by the end of the year. "We're in heavy testing phase," he said. "We like what we see." After Sen. Ruben Gallego sent a letter to Delta requesting answers about its AI pricing, the airline responded and said much of what was being said about their process was false. "Your letter presupposes that we are using, and intend to use, AI for 'individualized' pricing or 'surveillance' pricing, leveraging consumer-specific personal data, such as sensitive personal circumstances or prior purchasing activity to set individualized prices," the airline said in a letter dated July 31. "To clarify, this is incorrect, and this assumption, unfortunately, has created confusion and misinformation in the public discourse." Delta also shared more details about how it's using AI. The airline said AI is assisting human analysts by forecasting demand for specific routes, aggregating purchasing data, and factoring in thousands of variables at once — though not personal data. Sanders said being transparent about how AI is being used could help address the issue of consumer trust. He said companies should look toward the transparency practices at AI industry leaders like OpenAI, which he noted has introduced features that have ChatGPT show its work and explain its reasoning. One way airlines could do that would be to show fare factors on its ticket prices, or to provide some explanation about how a price was set. He also said airlines could allow users to opt out of AI-priced seats and make it clear that could mean some seats may not be offered to them. Companies should talk about how they're using AI to improve their service Clint Henderson, managing editor at the travel website The Points Guy, said he's worried that AI being used in pricing could actually lead airlines to penalize their most loyal customers by upcharging them because they will pay more to stick to the airline and get the points. But he said AI pricing could potentially be used for good, too, like by giving a discount to a new customer or offering cheaper upgrades to first or business class by finding just the right price for someone to splurge. Zack Kass, an AI advisor and former head of go-to-market at OpenAI, said rather than talk vaguely about how AI is boosting profits, companies need to talk about how they are using AI to improve the customer experience. "Talk about how your wait time on customer support is coming down. Talk about how you're improving on time arrivals. Talk about how you're using AI to lose fewer bags," Kass told Business Insider. Kass said many consumers might even approve of an airline charging wealthy passengers, like those who always opt for first-class, a bit more in order to provide lower prices to others. However AI is being used to improve the actual product or provide goods and services at a lower cost, he said it's incumbent on companies to tell that story. The way individual companies talk about AI doesn't just impact their business either, Sanders said, but can also slow adoption across the board if it creates broader distrust among consumers. "Trust in AI arrives by a mule," he said. "It leaves on a Maserati."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Microsoft CFO calls for ‘intensity' after strong Q4 earnings
This story was originally published on To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Microsoft delivered blockbuster, better-than-expected financial results on Wednesday, but a leaked internal memo from the company's finance chief signals that employees should not exactly rest easy. In an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that the company's next fiscal year will 'require intensity, clarity and bold execution.' "We're entering FY26 with clear priorities in security, quality and AI transformation, building on our momentum and grounded in our mission and growth-mindset culture," Hood told employees, according to BI. "Both the pace of change and customer expectations are continuously accelerating.' Her message comes as the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant on Wednesday reported fourth quarter net income of $27 billion and achieved a market cap value surpassing $4 trillion, joining only Nvidia as the only other publicly traded company to hit that mark. Still, Microsoft execs maintain that the company's remarkable financial performance will come with some growing pains. Earlier this month, the company said it plans to reduce about 4% of its workforce, or about 9,000 people, the Seattle Times reported. That came after several other rounds of cuts in 2025. In a message to employees last week, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella described the moves as part of the 'enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value.' 'Our overall headcount is relatively unchanged, and some of the talent and expertise in our industry and at Microsoft is being recognized and rewarded at levels never seen before,' he wrote. 'And yet, at the same time, we've undergone layoffs.' The timing of the layoffs certainly may raise eyebrows. It also carries reputational risks of its own. Rita McGrath, executive director of executive education at Columbia University, said that such moves are a 'symbolic disconnect of a massive degree.' 'That definitely could damage the culture,' she said in an interview with The wider tech industry's reported layoffs likely stem from a 'real arms race in the AI world,' McGrath said. Tech businesses are also under pressure to show that their enormous investments in artificial intelligence tools are justified. Microsoft, for its part, plans to spend over $30 billion on total capex this quarter. It's incumbent on CFOs, McGrath said, to explain to analysts and the wider business community the clear reasoning behind any strategic shifts. As an example, she pointed back to Adobe's switch from selling software on physical CDs to selling it through cloud subscriptions. Though the company's revenue dipped at the time, its market valuation grew, McGrath said. She attributed that to efforts the company's CFO made to explain the shift. For now, though, analysts are still apparently betting high on Microsoft's 'AI transformation,' as CFO Hood put it in her memo. In a research note, Raymond James analysts said that Microsoft had an 'unusually strong quarter with hardly anything to complain about.' 'While Azure stole the show, the strong performance was pervasive throughout the company's print,' they wrote. 'Segment results, expense trends, and guidance were all excellent.' It's worth noting that, despite job cuts, Microsoft's total workforce has been ticking up within the last few fiscal years. According to annual securities filings, Microsoft employed 228,000 people worldwide as of June 30. The tech giant reported the exact same number in the prior year. As of June 2022, Microsoft said it employed 221,000 employees, up from 181,000 employees in the prior year. Recommended Reading Microsoft makes major changes to its AI infrastructure plans, analyst says: Trial Balance
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
An Amazon seller doing 7 figures says one strategic addition has doubled her profit
Lisa Harrington's e-commerce career began in the early 2010s when she started selling clothing, purses, and other items in her closet that she didn't need anymore. She used the eBay profit to launch her first Amazon product — dog harnesses — and sold enough to quit her corporate job in 2016. She eventually created and patented interior cat doors, which have become a top-selling Amazon product and bring in seven figures in annual revenue. Harrington, who's been doing e-commerce for more than a decade, can pinpoint one decision that took her business to the next level: hiring a PPC coach. PPC (pay-per-click) refers to Amazon's advertising platform, where sellers can pay to have their products displayed prominently. Many sellers consider ads an essential aspect of succeeding in the competitive e-commerce space. For years, "I had a very low spend on my advertisement," Harrington told Business Insider. Figuring out how to run Amazon ads wasn't how she wanted to spend her time. "I just didn't have much interest in it. I really wanted to focus on branding and product development, but it has such an enormous impact on your profit and loss statement that you really can't ignore it." The idea to hire a coach came from an industry event. "I remember talking to this woman, and she's like, 'I hire a coach for everything I don't know how to do. It is the fastest way to level up,'" recalled Harrington. She took the advice, found a coach to help her specifically with ads, and, "in the time I've worked with her, my profit has doubled," said Harrington. It took her six months to find the right fit. "Coaches are hard to find. But when you do find one, it levels your business up," she said. Over the last couple of years, her PPC coach has become more of a general business coach. They discuss everything from product development to effective employee management. "She's the only person I can talk to about every aspect of my business. She not only has the expertise but has the background information, so I can spitball with her, solve problems, and come up with great ideas," said Harrington. The full-time entrepreneur and mother of two kids doesn't hesitate to outsource when she can. "I try to get a coach for everything because, thankfully, I've gotten to the point where I can pay people to help me," she said. "That, in some cases, tends to be a cheaper way to learn a skill or a cheaper way to get something done." Harrington is also a member of the elite group of seven-figure Amazon sellers called Million Dollar Sellers. Members must complete an interview and application and pay $7,497 a year to join the group, which grants them access to exclusive events and a robust network of top-tier entrepreneurs. She's adamant that investing in yourself "always pays dividends," she said. "The knowledge that you gain, the networks that you gain, the experience shares that you hear, the tips and tricks that you get access to — not only is that short-term helping your business and helping your profit and loss statement, but you're also learning all of those things, so that if everything fell apart tomorrow, you could rebuild it again."
