Best States for Older Adults in 2021

· Updated: February 05, 2026

In our yearly rankings of states for seniors, we’ve considered fifteen factors that our readers consider crucial to living a long and happy life. These include cost and access to health care, cost of living and tax burden, and lifestyle considerations. While everyone’s criteria for where to live is a little different, we’ve provided all of the data below for you to make your own decisions.

For older adults (or younger ones who want to be prepared), deciding where to spend your golden years is no simple task. For those considering an interstate move and those who hope to age in place, it's helpful to understand the benefits and drawbacks each state offers.

To analyze the states based on which are best for older adults, we studied all 50, comparing them across 15 statistical categories covering things like taxes, income, cost of living, weather, and much more. Jump to the bottom of the page to see our full methodology and sourcing.

Read on for the full study or to discover which states shine in the categories you care most about. But check out some key findings below:

  • Florida continues to lead as the top overall state for older adults, ranking in the top quarter across our three major statistical categories. Montana remains among the lowest-scoring states for seniors.
  • Every major region of the country is represented in the top 10 overall states, with Southern states making up the largest share of top-ranked locations.
  • Mississippi and Delaware continue to perform strongly, each earning multiple top 10 category finishes.

The Best and Worst States for Older Adults

Top 10 States

  1. Florida
  2. Oklahoma
  3. Mississippi
  4. Delaware
  5. Massachusetts
  6. Maryland
  7. North Dakota
  8. California
  9. North Carolina
  10. South Carolina
Map of the best and worst states for older adults
Compare States

Bottom 10 States

  1. Oregon
  2. Kentucky
  3. New Mexico
  4. Kansas
  5. Alaska
  6. West Virginia
  7. Washington
  8. Indiana
  9. Connecticut
  10. Montana
State Relative tax burden Rank SSI tax? Monthly ownership costs Rank Annual electricity cost Rank Median income 65+ householder Rank Average annual retirement income 60+ Rank T&F Rank Average monthly Marketplace premium after tax credit Rank % of 65+ with Medicare coverage Rank Active physicians per 100,000 people Rank Nursing and in-home health workers employed per 1,000 ppl 65+ Rank Life expectancy from birth Rank H&M Rank Pop % 50+ Rank Median age Rank Average annual temperature Rank Average cooling degree days Rank Culture Rank Overall Rank
Median 8.8% — — $1,142 — $1,625 — $52,380 — $31,450 — — $198 — 97.2% — 278 — 142 — 77.5 — — 38.5% — 39.2 — 52 — 916 — — —
Alabama 7.8% 9 No $905 4 $2,150 48 $45,820 45 $29,380 34 22 $142 9 97.5% 15 229 43 118 41 73.2 48 28 38.9% 18 39.8 19 65 6 1938 22 6 17
Alaska 5.6% 1 No $1,485 40 $1,820 39 $64,750 4 $42,180 3 1 $205 26 95.8% 43 292 21 183 7 76.6 33 20 34.2% 48 35.5 49 32 50 46 50 50 45
Arizona 8.6% 20 No $1,108 20 $1,795 38 $55,290 18 $33,650 19 16 $228 34 97.1% 25 255 32 115 43 78.0 16 48 38.2% 30 38.7 33 60 11 3100 34 23 40
Arkansas 9.4% 32 No $850 2 $1,560 22 $41,680 49 $26,720 47 23 $203 25 97.8% 13 220 47 132 34 73.8 44 44 38.3% 27 39.2 26 61 10 1849 28 17 39
California 9.7% 38 No $1,795 48 $1,455 15 $64,180 5 $43,150 2 6 $195 23 95.2% 48 295 19 188 5 79.7 2 15 35.8% 45 37.5 43 58 14 1027 37 39 8
Colorado 8.7% 25 Sometimes $1,380 39 $1,185 3 $62,150 9 $37,290 8 17 $282 45 96.5% 34 302 16 145 23 78.8 7 40 35.6% 47 37.6 42 45 37 378 4 30 33
Connecticut 10.4% 45 Sometimes $1,770 46 $2,150 49 $64,120 6 $36,780 9 48 $310 47 95.6% 45 371 6 158 15 79.5 3 26 41.2% 8 41.7 7 50 30 657 10 11 49
Delaware 5.8% 2 No $1,190 30 $1,700 28 $63,850 8 $34,520 17 2 $238 36 98.2% 5 300 17 139 30 77.2 27 35 41.6% 6 41.9 6 58 15 1218 26 7 4
Florida 7.1% 5 No $1,205 32 $1,850 41 $53,750 24 $34,980 14 10 $115 5 96.4% 35 280 23 99 49 78.1 13 14 42.5% 5 43.0 5 73 1 3689 9 2 1
Georgia 8.3% 15 No $1,110 21 $1,880 42 $52,010 29 $32,900 21 21 $148 12 96.6% 33 241 39 110 47 75.9 39 30 35.8% 46 37.7 40 66 4 1747 38 22 25
Missouri 8.2% 12 Sometimes $1,124 14 $1,847 27 $56,789 41 $31,420 38 43 $206 20 97.2% 14 273 22 170 8 77.8 39 17 36.9% 19 39.2 25 55 19 1315 11 16 27
Montana 7.5% 8 Yes $1,253 24 $1,497 7 $59,654 33 $32,130 36 47 $227 26 97.7% 6 247 30 114 40 79.3 26 41 39.1% 9 40.8 9 40 47 236 48 46 50
Nebraska 9.4% 35 Sometimes $1,283 27 $1,696 20 $62,567 26 $31,297 41 44 $104 3 96.6% 23 239 34 166 11 79.8 19 1 34.3% 41 37.1 46 48 33 1025 39 45 14
Nevada 8.7% 24 No $1,316 29 $1,676 18 $66,086 17 $43,430 6 5 $199 18 95.3% 39 214 45 94 48 78.5 33 47 34.9% 37 38.7 31 50 28 2204 19 36 34
New Hampshire 7.2% 6 No $1,819 44 $1,883 29 $70,444 13 $32,425 35 26 $310 44 96.4% 29 315 9 125 33 80.3 10 39 41.5% 3 43.3 2 43 40 329 7 10 28
New Jersey 10.2% 44 No $2,260 50 $1,649 17 $78,431 3 $40,532 10 28 $307 43 94.4% 47 307 11 133 27 80.6 7 37 37.3% 17 40.5 10 54 21 929 13 14 29
New Mexico 9.0% 27 Yes $1,060 7 $1,255 2 $56,425 42 $40,020 11 41 $227 26 96.3% 30 245 31 145 17 78.2 37 29 36.6% 22 38.9 27 54 20 1082 30 26 43
Oregon 8.1% 23 No $1,342 37 $1,398 13 $56,231 16 $32,450 18 13 $258 40 96.5% 27 303 12 108 45 79.8 16 42 36.8% 21 40.2 15 47 34 275 36 41 41
Pennsylvania 8.3% 26 No $1,169 28 $1,610 26 $50,784 34 $27,120 39 38 $224 33 96.6% 24 321 8 174 6 78.9 28 16 39.3% 7 41.3 8 50 28 738 5 5 12
Rhode Island 9.5% 43 Sometimes $1,496 42 $1,695 34 $55,523 21 $31,420 22 49 $202 26 95.4% 38 370 4 161 13 80.1 13 8 38.7% 10 40.6 11 51 27 609 23 21 38
South Carolina 7.3% 10 No $942 9 $2,018 47 $50,379 36 $29,127 28 18 $135 7 97.3% 12 230 38 106 46 77.4 42 24 37.8% 13 40.4 12 65 8 1,963 18 4 10
South Dakota 7.7% 11 No $1,082 19 $1,682 31 $53,565 25 $28,583 31 19 $159 13 96.5% 28 240 33 153 14 79.7 22 19 36.1% 28 38.2 38 42 42 725 6 34 16
Tennessee 6.0% 3 No $960 11 $1,845 43 $47,856 44 $26,174 45 12 $164 14 97.0% 18 253 29 108 44 76.8 43 31 36.2% 26 39.5 23 60 13 1,406 32 20 20
Texas 8.0% 19 No $1,279 34 $1,870 44 $54,617 23 $31,515 20 35 $137 8 94.1% 49 225 41 166 12 79.1 28 9 30.1% 49 35.6 48 66 5 2,959 44 40 18
Utah 8.6% 28 Yes $1,183 31 $1,055 1 $64,853 7 $33,144 15 40 $95 4 95.2% 41 216 44 136 24 80.2 13 3 25.5% 50 31.7 50 48 32 545 42 49 26

 

FYI:

FYI: If you're deciding where to move for retirement, visit our planning for housing in retirement guide to learn about other important factors to consider.

Conclusion

Less than 10 percent of people retire to a state other than the one they already live in1. But for those who are considering a move, looking at data like the one in this analysis can point you in the direction of a state that ensures your golden years are exactly that.

Elderly man and woman carrying suitcases

Methodology

We compared the states across dozens of categories, narrowing down the list of ranking factors to 15. For each category, we calculated a median value that was then compared to each state's result in each category. The result was a point value representing each state's relative performance in each category. A figure below 1 means a state had a worse-than-median result.

The one exception to this method of comparison was the category covering how many hot weather days each state has. Because of the enormous variation in climate across the country, it was necessary to compare the states to others of similar geography. So in that category, each state’s points were based on how much warmer its weather is compared to states with similar numbers of hot days.

Here's a look at the categories that made the cut, what each one measures, and how they played into each state's score.

Tax and Finances

The data points in this category account for about 40 percent of each state's total score, making it the most heavily weighted category that we considered.

  • Relative tax burden: A percentage that combines property tax, individual income tax, and sales and excise taxes as a percentage of personal income. The most recent year for the combined rates is 2022, based on Tax Foundation data.
  • Tax on Social Security benefits: A measure of whether a state taxes Social Security income; states that don’t tax this type of income received one point, states that do tax this type of income received zero points, and those that tax some but not all people with this type of income received half a point. As of 2025, only nine states tax Social Security benefits to some degree.
  • Monthly housing costs: A dollar amount that represents the average monthly ownership cost for mortgaged and non-mortgaged housing units. This includes taxes, loans, insurance, and other housing costs from 2023.
  • Annual electricity cost: A dollar amount that represents the average annual cost for residential electric bills per state based on data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
  • Median income, 65-plus: The median annual household income in households led by those 65 and older, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Average annual retirement income: The mean amount of retirement income per household with retirement income, which includes distributions from pension, 401(k), and IRA plans. The data is published annually by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Elderly couple speaking with lawyer

Health and Medicine

This category accounted for about 33 percent of the total score, making it the second-weightiest category.

  • Average Marketplace premium: A dollar figure representing what the average beneficiary pays after income tax credits for a Marketplace health care plan per month. This data is reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The most recent year for this data is 2025.
  • Percentage of 65-plus with Medicare coverage: A percentage of each state’s population of residents 65 and older who have Medicare coverage. This is a U.S. Census Bureau figure, most recently reported for 2023.
  • Active physicians per 100,000 people: The number of doctors employed per 100,000 people living in each state. This figure is from an annual study published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, most recently in 2024.
  • Nursing and in-home health workers per 1,000 older adults: The number of nursing care and in-home health care workers employed per 1,000 older adults in each state. This is a calculation of employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau; the most recent year for both elements was 2023.
  • Life expectancy from birth: The estimated number of years a person is expected to live from their birth. This data is based on analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most recently published in 2024 (reflecting 2023 data).

Healthcare workers keeping medical records

Culture and Lifestyle

These data points accounted for a combined 26 percent of each state's overall score.

  • Population 50 and older: The percentage of people in each state who are over 50 years of age; this is 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Median age: The median age of each state’s residents. 
  • Average annual temperature: The overall average temperature in each state for 2023, as published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  • Average cooling degree days: An average of the annual number of cooling degree days per state between 2019 and 2023, as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A cooling degree day is a measurement of the temperature difference between the high on a given day and 65 degrees; for example, if an area hits 95 degrees, that equates to 30 cooling degree days. For Alaska, the base temperature used in the calculation was 60 degrees.

Citations

  1. Allworth Financial. (2025). Here's Where Retirees Are Moving.