The Best States to Retire in 2023: A Complete Guide

What's the best state to retire in? It's a complicated question that you may find yourself asking as you approach retirement age.

Senior Couple Walking With Pet Golden Retriever

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About half of Americans older than 55 are retired, and that percentage may be on the rise. And even though retirement moves appear to be down, it's still an issue that many Americans approaching retirement think about.

Of course, people have different priorities when it comes to choosing the best state to retire in. But what are those priorities? The Motley Fool surveyed 1,500 Americans to find out -- and then ranked all 50 states based on those priorities.

We'll go over the survey results and then jump into the best states to retire to based on what Americans really want.

Key findings

Americans value quality of life, affordable housing, high-quality and affordable healthcare, safety, and low taxes when it comes to choosing a place to retire.
The top five states to retire to in 2023 are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Kentucky, and Rhode Island.
Alaska, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and California are the worst states to retire in based on the retirement factors Americans care most about.

Retirement factors ranked

What makes a state one of the best places to retire?

Instead of ranking states on the factors we think are important to people, we surveyed 1,500 Americans older than 55 to find out what they really want. High quality of life, low housing cost, high healthcare quality, reasonable healthcare costs, low crime rate, good public health, and low taxes were the highest-ranking factors.

Here's the full list of things that Americans think about when choosing a state to retire to:

Data source: The Motley Fool survey of 1,500 Americans age 55 and over, conducted December 2, 2021.
Retirement factor	Average importance (out of 10)
Quality of life	8.4
Housing cost	8.2
Healthcare quality	8.2
Crime rate	8.2
Healthcare cost	8.1
Public health, including Covid-19 response	7.7
Taxes	7.6
Non-housing costs	7.5
Weather	7.3
Proximity to family	7.2
Walkability	6.6
Resistance to climate change	6.1
Political environment	5.9
Diversity and equality	5.8
Proximity to airport	5.0
Public transit	4.8

What is quality of life?

Quality of life is the highest-ranking factor when it comes to finding a state to retire in, but what exactly does that mean?

The prevalence of retail and dining options came out at the top of our list, with 57% of respondents saying it's important. Outdoor activities (47%) and cultural activities (35%) were high priorities as well, while spiritual community (31%), organized activities for retirees (23%), and civic organizations (14%) were less important.

In these rankings, we've used Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index to represent quality of life since it captures many of the things that people want in a high-quality life, including a wide variety of physical, social, financial, and community factors.

Best state to retire

The best state to retire: Vermont

Vermont quietly has a lot going for it, including very good scores in public health, crime, quality of life, and cost of living. It also has lower-than-average housing costs as well as reasonable taxes for retirees.

The average temperature during the time period we looked at was 43ºF, the third lowest in the country. But the state's other strong scores offset Vermont's cold winters and mild summers.

Here are the stats we used to determine Vermont's ranking at the top of the list:

Quality of life score: 84 (4th in the U.S.)
Housing cost: $346,177 (28th lowest in the U.S.)
Healthcare cost and quality score: 68 (7th in the U.S.)
Crime score: 91 (4th best in the U.S.)
Tax score: 51 (16th best in the U.S.)
Average temperature: 43ºF (3rd lowest in the U.S.)
Cost of living score: 836 (29th lowest in U.S.)

Top 10 best states to retire

Top 10 best states to retire in 2023

Here's the ranking of the top 10 states for retirees based on our study and data analysis:

Vermont
Maine
New Hampshire
Kentucky
Rhode Island
Iowa
Wisconsin
Oregon
Nebraska
West Virginia

Four of the five best states to retire in are in New England -- Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

While few states in the top ten are known for their mild winters and temperate summers, most have a combination of low crime, affordability, good quality of life, and decent healthcare.

Read on for recommendations based on specific factors, and scroll down to see the full ranking based on all of the factors we included.

The best states to retire in for high quality of life

Data source: Sharecare (2022).
Rank	State	Sharecare Well-Being Index
T-1	Hawaii	71
T-1	Massachusetts	71
T-3	Maryland	70
T-3	New Jersey	70
5	New York	69

Our respondents said that quality of life is the most important factor to them. We measured quality of life using the Sharecare Community Well-Being Index, which combines a wide range of factors that they call "social determinants of health." This includes factors that cover physical and financial health, food access, and a variety of social and community elements.

The best states to retire in financially

We looked at two different factors that make a state affordable: housing cost, via the Zillow Home Value Index, and non-housing cost of living, represented by the C2ER Cost of Living Index. With the recent drop in average financial well-being among Americans over 61, this is more important than ever.

States with the most affordable homes for retirees

Data source: Zillow (2023).
Rank	State	Zillow Home Value Index
1	West Virginia	$154,979
2	Mississippi	$169,389
3	Arkansas	$186,209
4	Louisiana	$189,101
5	Kentucky	$197,948

States with the lowest cost of living for retirees

Data source: Council for Community and Economic Research (2023).
Rank	State	C2ER Cost-of-Living Index
1	Mississippi	85.3
2	Oklahoma	86.0
3	Kansas	87.7
4	Missouri	88.4
5	Alabama	88.8

Best states to retire in for healthcare

Data source: United Health Foundation (2022).
Rank	State	America's Health Rankings Clinical Care Score
1	Minnesota	0.936
2	Maine	0.818
3	Massachusetts	0.759
4	Rhode Island	0.700
5	Maryland	0.605

Our respondents value both the quality and affordability of healthcare when looking at states to retire in. We used a single value to represent both: the America's Health Rankings Clinical Care Score. This score is calculated using a number of factors that represent quality, availability, and cost of healthcare.

Safest states to retire to

Data source: United Health Foundation (2022).
Rank	State	Violent Crime Offenses Per 100,000 Population
1	Maine	109
2	New Hampshire	146
3	Vermont	173
4	Connecticut	182
5	New Jersey	195

To determine the level of safety of each state, we used the number of violent crimes committed per 100,000 population from the America's Health Rankings report. Like most factors, it's important to remember that safety is largely a community-level issue. But because it's important to our respondents, we included it here as a ranking factor.

Best states to retire tax wise

Data source: Tax Foundation (2022).
Rank	State	State and Local Tax Burden
1	Alaska	4.60%
2	Wyoming	7.50%
3	Tennessee	7.60%
4	South Dakota	8.40%
T-5	Michigan	8.60%
T-5	Texas	8.60%

We ranked states for taxes by looking at the Tax Foundation's State and Local Tax Burden tables. The six above have the lowest state and local tax burden in the country. It's important to remember, however, that taxes pay for public services, many of which are of use to retirees. Also, different states tax your retirement income differently.

Best states to retire to for warm weather

Data source: National Centers for Environmental Information (2022).
Rank	State	Average Annual Temperature
1	Hawaii	76.0ºF
2	Florida	72.8ºF
3	Louisiana	67.9ºF
4	Texas	66.3ºF
5	Georgia	65.4ºF

Identifying the state with the best weather for retirees is complicated, if not impossible. Many people prioritize mild winters, but others prefer dryness over heat. Others want to be close to the beach, and still others are fine with cold winters as long as summers aren't too oppressive. In the end, because warm winters are a common theme, we went with a four-year average temperature for our ranking, and the states above came out on top.

Retirement ranking by state

The best states to retire: The full ranking

Rank	State	Quality of life	Housing cost	Healthcare cost and quality	Crime rate	Public health/Covid response	Taxes	Cost of living	Weather	Overall weighted score
1	Vermont	84	72	68	91	100	51	83	17	100.0
2	Maine	92	68	72	99	88	56	72	17	99.3
3	New Hampshire	71	57	63	100	72	91	68	23	89.1
4	Kentucky	70	94	35	77	57	52	91	47	79.1
5	Rhode Island	73	60	63	83	55	48	88	39	73.3
6	Iowa	60	92	82	73	19	52	95	33	72.8
7	Wisconsin	52	82	75	73	42	58	95	24	70.6
8	Oregon	71	49	64	43	76	88	68	45	69.2
9	Nebraska	50	85	69	57	44	52	95	43	66.7
10	West Virginia	76	100	24	66	63	50	68	38	63.4
11	Wyoming	57	74	35	83	50	61	90	39	63.3
12	Pennsylvania	63	85	62	73	36	51	85	30	63.3
13	Ohio	55	91	54	60	52	44	91	36	61.5
14	Delaware	38	68	65	35	58	90	82	51	61.0
15	Michigan	58	89	64	49	48	54	92	26	60.5
16	Connecticut	49	68	63	91	51	48	70	37	59.7
17	Mississippi	85	98	8	53	21	45	100	71	59.6
18	North Carolina	61	75	41	39	59	50	88	61	56.1
19	Indiana	60	88	46	53	39	50	93	39	55.6
20	Montana	68	56	64	40	44	90	80	27	55.4
21	Virginia	43	68	42	82	60	54	68	51	54.3
22	Kansas	62	90	51	36	31	43	97	57	53.5
23	Illinois	67	86	43	50	41	43	94	41	53.2
24	North Dakota	57	86	58	64	31	46	90	23	50.3
25	Idaho	42	57	64	90	32	54	78	39	48.9
26	Oklahoma	72	94	15	17	49	41	99	66	46.7
27	New York	100	59	44	70	49	40	58	24	45.8
28	Missouri	67	88	35	17	44	48	97	49	43.2
29	New Jersey	65	54	42	94	30	40	69	44	42.6
30	Florida	40	66	25	46	48	50	82	92	42.2
31	Arkansas	82	95	30	5	35	36	95	63	42.0
32	Louisiana	78	95	21	2	37	29	93	78	37.8
33	Minnesota	25	75	58	65	50	47	91	20	37.2
34	Utah	2	46	74	64	49	49	92	57	37.0
35	Maryland	41	64	61	40	62	50	64	47	36.8
36	Alabama	71	91	28	14	33	26	96	69	35.9
37	South Carolina	70	81	36	5	45	46	73	72	35.7
38	South Dakota	61	80	58	53	0	44	88	34	33.6
39	New Mexico	38	80	51	0	47	41	91	77	32.5
40	Georgia	37	76	14	40	40	47	94	73	31.2
41	Texas	33	78	11	29	42	44	95	83	27.4
42	Tennessee	70	78	28	11	39	35	91	54	26.3
43	Massachusetts	52	37	53	78	58	52	33	34	24.0
44	Colorado	26	42	65	32	54	44	78	53	20.2
45	Hawaii	27	0	100	39	83	46	0	97	18.6
46	Alaska	27	71	53	1	92	81	58	0	16.4
47	Washington	22	38	67	38	67	30	81	32	11.8
48	Arizona	0	62	54	21	29	41	77	88	8.1
49	Nevada	27	62	22	27	41	39	83	64	5.7
50	California	21	14	60	29	60	38	47	83	0.0

Worst states to retire in

The worst states to retire in

Alaska, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and California are the worst states to retire in based on the retirement factors Americans care most about. While there are sought after areas in each state for retirees, they can be hard to afford for the average American and still come with drawbacks.

Overall, each of those five states all have poor quality of life scores and relatively high rates of crime. Aside from Alaska, their tax environment for retirees is somewhat unfriendly.

Alaska scores the worst among all states in weather, with frigid winters and an short, chilly summers.

Those five states are also expensive to live in.

California and Washington are among the most expensive states to buy a house in and home values in Alaska, Arizona, and Nevada are above the national average.

California and Alaska are in the top five states with the highest cost of living. Washington is in the top ten. Arizona and Nevada are in the top half.

Aside from Washington, healthcare for retirees in those states is middling at best.

Of course, there are sought after retirement communities in some of those states - particularly Arizona, Nevada, and the warmer parts of California. But on the whole, these states have drawbacks in key areas that Americans prioritize when retiring.

Methodology

To determine the best states to retire, The Motley Fool used a three-step process.

First, The Motley Fool surveyed 1,500 American adults at or above the age of 55 to find out what they value in retirement. This survey was distributed on Dec. 2, 2021.

Second, The Motley Fool selected data sources to correspond to the top retirement factors. The Motley Fool analyzed quality-of-life data from Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index; cost-of-living data from The Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index; housing data from Zillow’s Home Value Index; healthcare and crime data from United Health Foundation’s America's Health Rankings report; and tax data from The Tax Foundation’s State and Local Tax Burden tables.

Data from those sources were normalized and then weighted based on the importance of the corresponding factor from the survey.

The Motley Fool used those scores to create a final weighted score between 0 and 100 for each state to determine the best states to retire.

Expert Advice

Kari Benson

Director of the Aging and Adult Services Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services and Executive Director of the Minnesota Board on Aging

What are the top factors attracting retirees to your state as a popular retirement destination?

Minnesota is consistently ranked as a top place to retire, live well, and age well. Our health care system is unsurpassed and our service network is robust.

We think the primary attraction for retirees is Minnesota’s reputation as a state with a high-quality health care system and national ranking as one of the top states in providing long-term care to older adults. Minnesota is known for a high level of volunteerism and civic engagement and that is an attraction for retirees who want to be involved in their community and stay active.

What future plans does your state have in place to maintain its status as a retiree-friendly destination and support retirees' continued success and contributions to the local economy?

We are building a multi-sector blueprint for an age-friendly Minnesota and exploring aging from a holistic perspective, taking into consideration all aspects of what it takes to age well, including retirement.

This blueprint includes our multi-sector plan -- built on the strong services system we have in place to ensure we are making it possible for ALL older adults to live well and age well.

Building awareness of and respect for older adults, addressing ageism, and more consistently and meaningfully tapping the experience and expertise of older adults are key parts of these efforts.

Rajean P. Moone

Faculty Director and Associate Director of Education, Center for Healthy Aging & Innovation, in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota

How does your state cater to the needs of retirees with regards to health care, recreation, and transportation amenities and services?

Minnesota is enrolled in the Network of Age-Friendly States and works with local communities to support development efforts to help people age well in their community.

Minnesota has a strong health care system that supports retirees as they experience chronic conditions, mobility challenges and dementia. Minnesota is nationally known for a strong support system for people living with dementia and their family caregivers. In addition, Minnesota has a strong network of local supports for older adults in need of help around the house, with their personal care or with rides to health care services. This local service network is built on strong volunteer capacity and a significant level of public funding.

Leadership can also be found within our universities, public health and health systems with proven benefits to have a powerful impact on the well-being of older adults. For example, several Minnesota cities and towns focused on age-friendly work prior to COVID-19 were well-prepared to meet the needs of their older residents because they already had created the infrastructure, partnerships and communication channels needed.

Although we face transportation challenges in Greater Minnesota (the parts of the state outside the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area) where travel distances are greater and winter travel can be an obstacle, we believe our communities and volunteers go the extra mile to meet the needs of older Minnesotans. (In parts of Minnesota it’s more than a few extra miles.) As a state, we are also always looking for ways to innovate to better deliver Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) across the State.

What initiatives and programs does your state have in place to attract and retain retirees and what impact do they have on both retirees and the local economy?

Minnesota has many opportunities to engage with communities through local efforts. As a state, we rank very high in civic engagement and social participation.

This includes a robust pathway for volunteerism, civic engagement, and meaningful employment as well as trusted leadership roles in families and faith communities.

Guided by the coordination and targeted grant-making of an Age-Friendly Council established by the Governor, collaboration continues among lawmakers, non-profit providers, philanthropies, state agencies and local government to organize and prioritize the shared work needed to become a more livable place for people of all ages.