Key Points
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The Motley Fool ranked all 50 states across seven categories — including quality of life, healthcare, and taxes.
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Results from this research were based on what 2,000 surveyed retirees said actually matters most.
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Florida topped the list, offering no income tax, excellent healthcare access, and near-perfect climate.
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When most people think about where to retire, they fixate on one thing — such as taxes, weather, or housing costs — and build a ranking from there.
Optimizing for one factor usually means giving something up somewhere else. A state with no income tax might have sky-high insurance costs. The best weather might come with the worst affordability. The cheapest housing might mean limited access to quality healthcare.
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That’s what makes The Motley Fool’s approach useful. Rather than ranking states on a single metric, they scored all 50 across seven weighted categories, based on what 2,000 surveyed retirees said actually matters to them:
- Quality of life (31%)
- Healthcare access and quality (15%)
- Housing affordability (13%)
- Crime and safety (12%)
- Weather and climate (12%)
- State and local taxes (11%)
- Non-housing affordability (6%)
Quality of life alone carries nearly a third of the total score, so states that are cheap but offer little else get penalized. Here are the best retirement states, according to research from the Motley Fool. Let’s start with a four-way tie for the No. 5 spot.
5. (tie) PennsylvaniaTotal retirement score: 58
Pennsylvania offers one of the best cost-of-living scores — 94 — with decent costs of housing and crime scores — 83 and 63, respectively. For history buffs, Pennsylvania is hard to beat.
5. (tie) OhioTotal retirement score: 58
Ohio has the best cost-of-living score on this list — 96 — and the best cost of housing — 90. The larger cities provide access to great hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic.
5. (tie) MinnesotaTotal retirement score: 58
The best healthcare score of these top picks goes to Minnesota — 92 — anchored by the Mayo Clinic. It has world-class cultural institutions like the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and access to phenomenal outdoor beauty.
5. (tie) WisconsinTotal retirement score: 58
Wisconsin scores high in affordability, with cost of living at 85, housing at 77, and healthcare also at 77. And the state is extremely safe, with a crime and safety score of 85, one of the highest on this list.
4. MichiganTotal retirement score: 59
Michigan scores an 87 on housing and an 89 on cost of living — making it one of the most affordable options for retirees in the entire country.