Bankrate.com, the leading aggregator of financial rate information online and publisher of articles for consumers to help them make informed financial decisions, recently published its newest list of the country’s top retirement states and cities.
Bankrate looked at various indices among the nation’s largest metro areas and then assigned different numerical values to those indices to come up with its “top” places. The indices included
– cost of living
– crime rate
– health care
– friend factor of people +65 years old
– public transit
– taxes
– things to do
– weather
– overall well being
Cost of living, crime rate and health care were the most heavily weighted. Retirement hubs such as Myrtle Beach, VA and Sarasota, FLA were omitted due to size.
Bankrate’s chief analyst, Taylor Tepper explained that this list was not meant to comprehensive in any way. “We were asking questions like, ‘what type of culture are they looking for?’ and ‘are there people their own age?’”
Bankrate’s top retirement states include
-Idaho – cost of living, low crime, well being
-Wisconsin – health care, cost of living, well being
– South Dakota – low taxes, cost of living, well being
– Massachusetts – health care, well being, low crime
– Virginia – cost of living, low crime, weather
– Minnesota – health care, cost of living, well being
– Iowa – cost of living, health care, low crime
– Maine – health care, friends, low crime
– Colorado – health care, cost of living, well being
– New Hampshire – health care, low crime, well being
You may be surprised with Bankrate’s top 25 retirement metros…
1. Pittsburgh
2. Boston
3. Los Angeles area
4. Denver
5. Providence, RI
6. Minneapolis
7. Tampa – St. Petersburg
8. Phoenix
9. Austin
10. Dallas
11. Raleigh
12. Portland
13. Charlotte
14. Nashville
15. Philadelphia
16. Richmond, VA
17. Milwaukee
18. New York City
19. Jacksonville
20. Virginia Beach
21. New Orleans
22. Chicago
23. San Diego
24. Orlando
25. Salt Lake
