Question 1

What makes a state good for retirement?

Accepted Answer

The biggest financial levers are state income tax (especially on Social Security and pensions), total state and local tax burden, and housing cost. On top of that, retirees benefit from PACE programs (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), low violent crime, and affordable nursing home and assisted living options nearby.

Question 2

Which states have no income tax on retirement income?

Accepted Answer

Nine states have no broad state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Several others (Illinois, Mississippi, Pennsylvania) tax wages but exempt Social Security and most pension income — always confirm current rules with the state Department of Revenue before relocating.

Question 3

How are these scores calculated?

Accepted Answer

Each factor is normalized linearly from 0–100 against the actual 51-state distribution, then weighted into a composite. States missing a factor receive a neutral 50 on that factor so they remain comparable. See the methodology section for the exact weights.

Question 4

Why isn't healthcare quality in this ranking?

Accepted Answer

Healthcare access for retirees is dominated by Medicare (federal, identical across states) plus the local provider network. PACE availability captures the structured-care-at-home dimension that varies by state. Hospital quality data exists in Mubboo's CMS dataset but isn't strongly correlated with retirement outcomes.

Factor	Weight	Direction	Data source
No State Income Tax	20%	Higher = better	Tax Foundation state income tax (has_income_tax = false scores higher)
Low Total Tax Burden	15%	Lower = better	Tax Foundation state and local tax burden (% of personal income)
PACE Program Available	15%	Higher = better	CMS PACE provider directory via policy_senior_care
Affordable Nursing Home	15%	Lower = better	Genworth 2024 Cost of Care nursing home monthly average
Low Violent Crime	20%	Lower = better	FBI Crime Data Explorer violent crime rate (per 100K)
Affordable Housing	15%	Lower = better	Zillow ZHVI state-average home value (HUD/Zillow housing)

#	State	No State Income Tax	Low Total Tax Burden	PACE Program Available	Affordable Nursing Home	Low Violent Crime	Affordable Housing	Overall
1	Tennessee	100	85	100	95	—	80	84
2	Texas	100	67	100	96	—	80	81
3	Florida	100	62	100	80	—	65	76
4	Washington	100	42	100	78	—	42	69
5	South Dakota	100	65	0	91	—	79	65
6	Louisiana	0	62	100	99	—	95	63
7	Wyoming	100	73	0	92	—	57	63
8	Alabama	0	59	100	93	—	92	62
9	Indiana	0	60	100	93	—	89	61
10	Missouri	0	60	100	95	—	87	61
11	Georgia	0	60	100	94	—	82	60
12	Michigan	0	53	100	86	—	85	59
13	Nevada	100	56	0	84	—	52	59
14	Ohio	0	48	100	88	—	89	59
15	South Carolina	0	58	100	89	—	82	59
16	Illinois	0	35	100	94	—	89	58
17	Iowa	0	37	100	95	—	91	58
18	Nebraska	0	40	100	94	—	87	58
19	North Carolina	0	53	100	89	—	78	58
20	New Hampshire	100	58	0	71	—	51	57
21	New Mexico	0	43	100	92	—	79	57
22	Alaska	100	100	0	0	—	71	56
23	Arizona	0	56	100	88	—	61	56
24	Pennsylvania	0	44	100	73	—	85	55
25	Wisconsin	0	40	100	84	—	77	55
26	Minnesota	0	22	100	89	—	79	54
27	Virginia	0	38	100	83	—	69	54
28	Colorado	0	53	100	83	—	45	52
29	Utah	0	38	100	92	—	47	52
30	Delaware	0	34	100	74	—	62	51
31	Oklahoma	0	63	0	100	—	96	49
32	Oregon	0	29	100	77	—	57	49
33	Maryland	0	27	100	72	—	55	48
34	Mississippi	0	56	0	98	—	99	48
35	Rhode Island	0	33	100	73	—	44	48
36	Arkansas	0	45	0	100	—	95	46
37	District of Columbia	0	37	100	72	—	33	46
38	Kansas	0	47	0	97	—	93	46
39	Kentucky	0	51	0	94	—	96	46
40	North Dakota	0	58	0	88	—	87	45
41	West Virginia	0	49	0	85	—	100	45
42	Connecticut	0	20	100	60	—	47	44
43	Massachusetts	0	40	100	64	—	24	44
44	New Jersey	0	27	100	68	—	30	44
45	New York	0	0	100	64	—	57	43
46	California	0	23	100	80	—	0	40
47	Idaho	0	55	0	87	—	56	40
48	Montana	0	47	0	89	—	60	39
49	Maine	0	30	0	77	—	72	37
50	Hawaii	0	12	100	56	—	1	35
51	Vermont	0	26	0	72	—	69	35

Best States to Retire in America

How we scored each state

Full 51-State Ranking

FAQ

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