Econintersect: Investment News has posted a slide show for the ten worst states for retirement. It may be no surprise that none of them are in the south or west. The list comes from a ranking of all 50 states for desirability for retirees, prepared by Moneyrates.com.
The worst state is Michigan.
From the Moneyrate.com complete list Hawaii ranks number 1. The top ten states are all southern or far western except for South Dakota (#9) which doesn’t quite qualify as far west.
The criteria used for ranking:
- Cost of living
- Property taxes
- Unemployment rate
- Violent crime rates
- Property tax rates
- Climate
- Life expectancy for seniors
- Recent population growth in the senior demographic
The weighting factor for each was not disclosed. But most of the states on the top and the bottom lists have clear advantages and disadvatages with regard to the sixth (climate) and last (recent population growth in the senior demographic). Econintersect would like to see how the states rank if those two criteria were left off the list and only the other six were evaluated.
Sources:
- The 10 worst states for retirement (Slide Show, Investment News, 26 October 2012)
- Best and Worst States for Retirement 2012: The complete list (MoneyRates.com, 22 October 2012)