The 10 best states for retirees aren't what you'd expect
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.
10. Virginia
Total score: 69.72
6. Rhode Island Rhode Island had the fourth-lowest violent crimes per capita, contributing to its health-and-safety ranking of sixth out of the 50 states. It ranked fifth for affordability, 19th for education and childcare and socioeconomics, and 27th for family fun.
3. Wyoming Casper, Wyoming, is safer than most cities, with CrimeGrade.org giving the city a B-, meaning the crime rate is slightly lower than the average US city.
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