Good news for a Delaware enthusiast who is about to retire: The small mid-Atlantic state, known for its beaches and favorable tax laws, is the best state to retire in, according to a recent study.
OK, so you're not Joe Biden and you don't have much affection for Delaware. But maybe you're one of millions of Americans planning their retirement and a move. The study, conducted by Bankrate, analyzed financial and quality of life metrics in all 50 states to find the best for retirement.
In case the rankings seem completely different in both the literal and theoretical sense, here are the factors Bankrate used to reach its conclusions and their weighting: affordability (40 percent), general well-being (25 percent), health care quality and cost (20 percent), weather (10 percent) and crime (5 percent).
Is year-round sunshine important to you, or do you want to avoid extreme weather and the higher homeowners insurance bills that come with it? Which state offers quality healthcare or low housing costs? The ratings allow you to search for the winners in each category. The most affordable were West Virginia, Mississippi, Indiana, Alabama and Georgia. The best weather – taking into account temperatures, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes – was in Hawaii, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi (if you like the heat).
Although Delaware came in at the top, the rankings were mixed. It did well for overall well-being and weather, with its temperate climate. The cost of living can be higher there, but there is also no state or local sales tax and no taxes on social services. It did not do particularly well for crime (36th) and also for the quality and cost of health care (39th).
But of course there are also factors that will never appear in the rankings – such as how easy it is to visit friends or grandchildren.
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