Alabama: Surrounded by best Retirement States. But NOT one of them

 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/realestate/the-best-and-worst-states-for-retirement.html

 

A N.Y Times story counts Mississippi, Georgia, Florida And West Virginia and among the best states in which to retire. But Alabama? Not on the list...it ranks 11th.

Top 5 states for retirees in 2024

Delaware landed in the top spot for the best state to retire in this year. The First State isn’t typically thought of as a retirement haven, but it has many strong selling points for retirees.

Delaware is a tax-friendly state for retirees. It doesn’t have state or local sales tax, and it doesn’t tax Social Security benefits. It also has lower property taxes relative to the rest of the country, averaging roughly $1,939 annually, according to ATTOM data. The state ranks well for racial and ethnic diversity, arts and entertainment establishments per 100,000 residents and overall well-being. Compared to its population, it also has a high share of residents who are 62 and older. Earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes are also rare, and the climate is temperate. The state’s weaker spots are its cost of living, crime, and cost of health care.

While Delaware is a pricier state to live in, it scores well in all other affordability metrics we considered in the ranking: property taxes, combined state and local sales tax and homeowners insurance. The remaining top five best states to retire are:

2. West Virginia: This small state boasts the best affordability in the nation, based on a low cost of living, low property taxes and affordable homeowners insurance. The state fell in the middle of the pack for wellness. However, it scored the worst of all the states in the quality and cost of health care category due to high health care costs, poor health system performance and fewer health care establishments per 100,000 residents in the state.

3. Georgia: The Peach State has become significantly more affordable since last year, pushing it up from 15th place to third place on our ranking. That’s primarily because Georgia’s cost of living in Georgia has come down significantly, and average homeowners insurance premiums have dropped slightly. The quality and cost of health care in Georgia improved slightly, but overall well-being and crime scores remained poor this year.

4. South Carolina: South Carolina is another Sun Belt surprise that scored higher on affordability this year compared to 2023, pushing it up from 19th place to fourth place in our ranking. It scored well in the weather category and fell in the middle of pack for overall well-being and quality and cost of health care. However, it suffered in one key category: crime.

5. Missouri: Fifth-place Missouri shines for affordability, ranking well for cost of living and property taxes. Affordability carries a 40 percent weight in the ranking, which is why we see Missouri ranked high on our list. However, this state struggles with its quality of health care, overall well-being, crime and natural disasters.

Bottom 5 states for retirees in 2024

Several pricey Western and Northeastern states landed in the bottom five this year. Alaska held last place has been ranked the worst for the second consecutive year. The state was dragged down by back-of-the-pack scores in affordability, quality and cost of health care, weather and crime. The remaining four worst states for retirement were:

• New York (49)
• Washington (48)
• California (47)
• North Dakota (46)