Non-retired Americans considering where to spend their after-work lives have to think about how far their money will go in the place they decide to live. This is critical when only 35% of workers see their retirement savings as on track, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve's 2025 annual report on household economic well-being.
A study released Monday by WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranks the 50 states from the best to the worst ones to retire.
"Retirement is supposed to be relaxing, but it can also be incredibly stressful given that it typically puts people on a fixed income, which may not be enough for them to live comfortably," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement. "As a result, the best states for retirees are those that have low taxes and a low cost of living to help retirees' budgets stretch as far as possible."
Lupo said it is also crucial that retirees have access to excellent medical care and homemaking services, especially if they do not plan to live close to their families.
In order to identify the most retirement-friendly states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across these key dimensions:
— Affordability, including adjusted cost of living, retired taxpayer friendliness and annual cost of in-home services
— Quality of life, including share of population 65 and older, the labor market's friendliness to older workers, mildness of weather, access to public transportation, and air and drinking water quality
— Health care, including family medicine physicians per capita, top-rated geriatrics hospitals, well-being index for population 55 and older and life expectancy
Researchers evaluated those dimensions using 46 relevant metrics, and graded each one on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for retirement.
See the gallery for the 12 best states to retire in 2026, according to WalletHub.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.