Curated shortlist

States to consider for retirement

Retirement is personal, so this does not score weather or politics for you. It starts with the parts that have a clear direction: costs, state tax treatment, care access and road safety.

How this shortlist works

Each listed measure receives equal weight after being scaled against the national range. A score only compares these states on these measures; it is not a quality grade.

Median home priceCost of livingTax on retirement incomeState tax on Social SecurityPrimary care physicians per 100,000 adults 65+Hospitals here with an emergency departmentTraffic deaths

Top states on this mix

Open a state to see its counties, sources and the measures behind the score.

  1. 1Texas78.6 match
  2. 2South Dakota66.6 match
  3. 3Illinois66.6 match
  4. 4Alaska65.8 match
  5. 5Florida65.4 match
  6. 6Pennsylvania64.8 match
  7. 7Iowa64.4 match
  8. 8Tennessee64.4 match
  9. 9Washington61.9 match
  10. 10Wyoming60.3 match

What the top five look like

StateHome priceCost of livingRetirement incomeSocial Security taxPrimary care for older adultsEmergency roomsRoad safety
Texas$302,99992.1No income taxNot taxed45338934.4
South Dakota$325,61891.9No income taxNot taxed4725431.8
Illinois$298,87194.7ExemptNot taxed46817522.1
Alaska$400,659124.9No income taxNot taxed7152225.1
Florida$378,126102.2No income taxNot taxed34318434.8

Make the shortlist yours

Change the weights, add your climate preference, or drop anything that does not matter to you.

Open in Find your fit →

These measures have different source schedules. See each state profile's Data dates & sources disclosure and the methodology before making a decision.