The Best States To Retire In 2024: A Guide

When you’re planning your retirement, one of the most important things to consider is where you’ll settle down. Maybe you’ll decide to stay in your current state, close to the friends and family you already live nearby. On the other hand, many retirees choose to relocate to a state that better fits the lifestyle they envision for their retirement.

To help you narrow down your choice, we’ve rounded up a list of the best states to retire in 2024, how the rest of the states rank and tips on how to decide where to live.

What Makes The Best Place To Retire?

When we narrowed down our list of the best states to retire, we relied on factors that are often important to retirees, including population, economy, quality of life and the quality of and access to health care. All of these factors combined impact just how enjoyable and affordable life will be during your retirement. Here’s more information about the factors that influenced the Rocket Homes^SM methodology:

• Population: One factor that may be important to seniors is the population of a particular area. Population doesn’t just refer to the number of people that live there, but also the population density, population growth and the percentage of the population that’s 65 and older.
• Economic factors: It’s no surprise that economic factors contribute to whether a particular state is a good place to retire. Economic factors we considered include affordability, cost of living (especially housing costs) and income taxes.
• Quality of life: Seniors want to live in a place where they can have an overall good quality of life. Quality of life can be impacted by everything from access to entertainment to the average temperature.
• Health care: A person’s health care needs often rise dramatically when they reach retirement. For a place to be considered a good place to retire, it’s important that it has access to quality health care.

The 10 Best States For Retirees

With so many options to choose from, it’s understandably difficult to decide which state to retire in. Based on the metrics described above, we’ve narrowed down the list of the best states to retire to these 10:

1. Wyoming

Wyoming is known for its beautiful outdoors and is home to national parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton. And regardless of whether you have a love of the great outdoors, Wyoming has plenty of other characteristics that make it an excellent place to retire.

Wyoming stands out for its financial benefits for retirees, including not having any income tax or retirement income tax. In fact, it boasts one of the lowest overall tax burdens in the country. Its population has grown considerably in recent years, especially its senior population. Despite that, it still maintains a below-average cost of living, including low housing costs.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Wyoming:

• Age 65+ population: 107,988
• Health care score: #43
• Average annual temperature: 42 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Wyoming.

2. Delaware

Delaware, commonly known as the “first state” (because it was the first to ratify the Constitution) is also among the best places for retirees to live. Delaware is a popular choice for retirees because it’s a tax-friendly state – it has below-average property taxes and no sales taxes. It also has a large senior population, lots of access to arts and entertainment and easy access to quality health care.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Delaware:

• Age 65+ population: 212,180
• Health care score: #25
• Average annual temperature: 55.3 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Delaware.

3. Idaho

Idaho is another state that allows its residents to enjoy the great outdoors. Its beautiful mountainous landscape attracts hikers and other lovers of the outdoors. It’s also home to some key agriculture, including potatoes and huckleberries. Idaho has seen huge population growth in recent years, including its senior population – its 65+ population has grown by more than 56% in the past decade. Though this rising population has caused the cost of living to spike, it still remains more affordable than many other states.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Idaho:

• Age 65+ population: 329,530
• Health care score: #23
• Average annual temperature: 44.4 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Idaho.

4. Nevada

Nevada is known as being home to Las Vegas, but it has far more to offer than that. Retirees will likely enjoy its low tax burden, including no income tax or retirement income tax. The state is an excellent choice for retirees who enjoy arts and entertainment, as the state offers more of it than most other states. Additionally, the state’s senior population has grown significantly in the past decade, so you’ll be in good company.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Nevada:

• Age 65+ population: 538,491
• Health care score: #41
• Average annual temperature: 49.9 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Nevada.

5. Colorado

Colorado has long been a popular state for retirees and young people alike. It offers beautiful scenery and access to some of the best outdoor recreation in the country while offering both small-town and big-city lifestyles. It really shines when it comes to access to health care, which is a major bonus for retirees.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Colorado:

• Age 65+ population: 915,661
• Health care score: #18
• Average annual temperature: 45.1 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Colorado.

6. Utah

Utah is one of the most diverse states in terms of climate. In the northern part of the state, you’ll find mountains and excellent skiing. And in the southern part, you’ll find arid deserts and dunes, which are home to several of its national parks, including Zion, Arches and Bryce Canyon. Though Utah has an above-average cost of living, it has a generally low tax burden and accessible quality health care. Finally, as an added bonus, Utah is home to two of the least stressed cities in the country.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Utah:

• Age 65+ population: 403,699
• Health care score: #19
• Average annual temperature: 48.6 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Utah.

7. Montana

Montana is another oasis for outdoor recreation. It’s home to well-known spots like Glacier National Park and Big Sky Resort, among others. Montana offers its residents one of the lowest overall tax burdens in the country – only seven states have lower taxes. The state's senior population has boomed in recent years, increasing by more than most other states. Additionally, it has more health care establishments per 10,000 residents than most states.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Montana:

• Age 65+ population: 226,136
• Health care score: #26
• Average annual temperature: 42.7 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Montana.

8. South Dakota

If you’re looking for a state with plenty of economic benefits, look no further than South Dakota. It ranks better than most states for having a low cost of living and a low overall tax burden, including no income tax. South Dakota has a large retiree population with plenty of activities to offer, including its national parks, Custer State Park and historical spots.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to South Dakota:

• Age 65+ population: 165,909
• Health care score: #29
• Average annual temperature: 45.2 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in South Dakota.

9. Alaska

If you’re looking for a state with beautiful scenery, it’s difficult to find one more beautiful than Alaska. Also known as The Last Frontier, Alaska is known for everything from its beautiful mountains, scenic cruises, glaciers, northern lights and more. It’s home to more national parks than any state but California.

Though it has a high cost of living, Alaska offers the lowest tax burden of any state, including having no income tax or retirement income tax. Based on this information, it’s no surprise that it’s one of the most popular states for seniors to retire, falling behind only Arizona, Florida, California and Nevada.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Alaska:

• Age 65+ population: 101,474
• Health care score: #39
• Average annual temperature: 26.6 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Alaska.

10. Hawaii

Who wouldn’t want to retire in a place where you can feel like you’re always on vacation? That’s exactly what you get when you move to Hawaii. Someone hardly needs an explanation of Hawaii’s benefits, which include its stunning beaches, rich culture and beautiful weather. Due to its high tax burden and high cost of living, Hawaii isn’t right for everyone, but it ranks second highest in the nation for access to health care and has more arts and entertainment establishments per capita than any other state.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider when considering a move to Hawaii:

• Age 65+ population: 294,654
• Health care score: #2
• Average annual temperature: 70 F

If you’re considering a move, be sure to explore the homes for sale in Hawaii.

The Worst Retirement States

Now that we’ve talked about the best states to retire, we must also discuss the worst ones. The table below breaks down the worst states to retire based on Rocket Homes data. There’s not necessarily one common denominator that makes all of these states rank poorly. However, some common themes among some include a small senior population, lack of accessible health care and few arts and entertainment establishments.

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t note that everyone has a different idea of what a happy retirement looks like to them. For some people, the states on this list might be the ideal place to retire, especially if they’re home to your loved ones. Just make sure that if you’re considering moving to a new state for retirement, you look at the data to ensure it’s the right place for you.

How Every US State Ranks For Retirees

Are you wondering how all of the states rank for retirees? The table below shows some of the most important factors for many retirees for each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia.

The Bottom Line

Many people spend years of their working life dreaming of and planning for retirement. Not only does it take financial preparation, but it also requires plenty of planning, including deciding where you’ll spend your golden years. It’s a big decision and not one to be taken lightly.

If you decide to move out of state, then your retirement plan may include buying a new house. As you approach retirement and your big move, get started on a home loan application today.

Methodology: Finding The Best States To Retire

Rocket Homes collected and analyzed the most recent data on 11 key statewide metrics to give us insight into the top states best for retiring. We analyzed all 50 states and Washington D.C. The metrics used in this study include presence of state income/retirement income tax, cost of living composite index, calculated effective real estate tax rate, average annual home insurance cost, median rent, health related establishments per 10,000 residents, Commonwealth Fund Health Care System Performance Scorecard, 5-year growth in 65+ population per 10,000 residents, 10-year growth in 65+ population per 10,000 residents, average annual temperature (F) and arts and entertainment related establishments per 10,000 residents. These metrics were chosen based on public data availability and topical relevancy. Metrics from the U.S. Census are based on 2022 ACS 1-year estimates, and industry specific establishments data is from 2021 Economic Surveys.

Median yearly real estate taxes are an average of owner-occupied units with and without a mortgage. Effective property tax rate was calculated by dividing median yearly real estate taxes by median home value. Per 10,000 residents’ calculations were based on 2022 state population and per 10,000 residents. Each data category was normalized and transformed into a range of points for scoring and comparison. Weights were then applied to each metric depending on their individual importance in the study. The weighted scores for each metric were summed to create the overall Best State To Retire score for each state. The final scores are sorted to produce the final rankings.

Other metrics considered without weight: