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Best States to Retire in America
Ranked by tax friendliness, senior care infrastructure, safety, and housing affordability — combining four Mubboo datasets no single source publishes together.
Retirement decisions hinge on more than weather. We combine four datasets — Tax Foundation state burdens, KFF/Genworth senior care costs, CMS PACE availability, and FBI violent crime rates — to rank every state on retiree-relevant factors.
How we scored each state
Each factor is normalized 0–100 against the actual 51-state distribution (min → 0, max → 100; inverted when lower is better). The composite is a weighted average; states missing data for a factor receive a neutral 50 so all 51 still rank.
Full 51-State Ranking
| # | State | No State Income Tax | Low Total Tax Burden | PACE Program Available | Affordable Nursing Home | Low Violent Crime | Affordable Housing | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 100 | 100 | — | — | — | — | 68 |
| 2 | Tennessee | 100 | 85 | — | — | — | — | 65 |
| 3 | Texas | 100 | 67 | — | — | — | — | 63 |
| 4 | Wyoming | 100 | 73 | — | — | — | — | 63 |
| 5 | Florida | 100 | 62 | — | — | — | — | 62 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 100 | 65 | — | — | — | — | 62 |
| 7 | Nevada | 100 | 56 | — | — | — | — | 61 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 100 | 58 | — | — | — | — | 61 |
| 9 | Washington | 100 | 42 | — | — | — | — | 59 |
| 10 | Georgia | 0 | 60 | — | — | — | — | 42 |
| 11 | Indiana | 0 | 60 | — | — | — | — | 42 |
| 12 | Louisiana | 0 | 62 | — | — | — | — | 42 |
| 13 | Missouri | 0 | 60 | — | — | — | — | 42 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 0 | 63 | — | — | — | — | 42 |
| 15 | Alabama | 0 | 59 | — | — | — | — | 41 |
| 16 | Arizona | 0 | 56 | — | — | — | — | 41 |
| 17 | Idaho | 0 | 55 | — | — | — | — | 41 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 0 | 56 | — | — | — | — | 41 |
| 19 | North Dakota | 0 | 58 | — | — | — | — | 41 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 0 | 58 | — | — | — | — | 41 |
| 21 | Colorado | 0 | 53 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 22 | Kansas | 0 | 47 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 0 | 51 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 24 | Michigan | 0 | 53 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 25 | Montana | 0 | 47 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 26 | North Carolina | 0 | 53 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 27 | Ohio | 0 | 48 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 28 | West Virginia | 0 | 49 | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 0 | 45 | — | — | — | — | 39 |
| 30 | Massachusetts | 0 | 40 | — | — | — | — | 39 |
| 31 | Nebraska | 0 | 40 | — | — | — | — | 39 |
| 32 | New Mexico | 0 | 43 | — | — | — | — | 39 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 0 | 44 | — | — | — | — | 39 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | 0 | 40 | — | — | — | — | 39 |
| 35 | Delaware | 0 | 34 | — | — | — | — | 38 |
| 36 | District of Columbia | 0 | 37 | — | — | — | — | 38 |
| 37 | Illinois | 0 | 35 | — | — | — | — | 38 |
| 38 | Iowa | 0 | 37 | — | — | — | — | 38 |
| 39 | Utah | 0 | 38 | — | — | — | — | 38 |
| 40 | Virginia | 0 | 38 | — | — | — | — | 38 |
| 41 | Maine | 0 | 30 | — | — | — | — | 37 |
| 42 | Maryland | 0 | 27 | — | — | — | — | 37 |
| 43 | New Jersey | 0 | 27 | — | — | — | — | 37 |
| 44 | Oregon | 0 | 29 | — | — | — | — | 37 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 0 | 33 | — | — | — | — | 37 |
| 46 | California | 0 | 23 | — | — | — | — | 36 |
| 47 | Connecticut | 0 | 20 | — | — | — | — | 36 |
| 48 | Minnesota | 0 | 22 | — | — | — | — | 36 |
| 49 | Vermont | 0 | 26 | — | — | — | — | 36 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | 34 |
| 51 | New York | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 33 |
Scores are normalized 0–100; higher is better. Click any state name for the full state profile.
FAQ
What makes a state good for retirement?
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.
Which states have no income tax on retirement income?
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.
How are these scores calculated?
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.
Why isn't healthcare quality in this ranking?
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.
Mubboo Editorial Team. Cross-domain rankings combine state-level data from multiple Mubboo Info datasets — see the methodology table above for per-factor sources. Datasets refresh annually; rankings recompute every 24 hours. See our full methodology →
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