Florida earned the top spot in WalletHub‘s latest list of the top states to retire.
The financial advice website explained the reasoning and methodology behind the Sunshine State’s #1 ranking.
“Florida isn’t known as a retirement paradise for nothing – it ranks as the best state to retire due to its relatively low taxes for retired people, including no estate, inheritance or income taxes. The cost of adult day health care (health services for seniors who don’t need around-the-clock care) and homemaker services are also lower than in most other states. In addition to financial factors, Florida provides an ideal environment for retirees. It has the second-most shoreline miles of any state, allowing for plenty of relaxing at the beach. It also ranks among the top states for adult volunteer activities, theater companies, golf courses and country clubs. There are plenty of ways for seniors to stay healthy and happy, which is reflected in the fact that Florida has one of the lowest death rates for people aged 65 and older in the country.”
In order to identify the most retirement-friendly states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Quality of Life and 3) Health Care.
“We evaluated those dimensions using 46 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for retirement. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states. We then calculated each state’s weighted average across all metrics to determine its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.”
“Florida’s strong economy and low taxes create opportunities for families which is why Florida continues to lead the nation in net in-migration,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We are proud to be the top destination for retirement.”
In recent months, Florida has also ranked #1 for talent attraction by Lightcast, and #1 for entrepreneurship by The Digital Project Manager, and Florida leads the nation in new business formations, with more than 2.8 million new businesses formed since 2019. These rankings continue to demonstrate that Florida’s investments in workforce education, strong infrastructure and economic development have propelled Florida forward and created a strong economy that creates opportunities for families.
Florida was followed by Colorado in second place. Virginia took home the bronze in third place.
