The Worst States For Retirement in 2015
Even with a low cost of living, Arkansas scrapes the bottom of the list because of its lousy weather, crime, health care, taxes and happiness scores. Retirement may be shorter in Arkansas, at just 76 years; the state has one of the shortest life expectancies in the U.S.
Flickr/Clayton Wells
The Empire State’s brutal tax laws make it particularly unfriendly to retirees. Pair that with harsh weather and a high cost of living and it’s far less appealing than other states.
Flickr/Werner Kunz
Tax laws here are great, but Alaska is still cold and remote without access to the top-notch health care in the lower 48. It’s also not cheap: The cost of living in the Last Frontier is 27 percent higher than the U.S. average, according to PayScale.
Flickr/blmiers2
For the sixth year in a row,
The economy in Louisiana is still struggling, crime is high in many parts of the state, and temperatures regularly rise past a humid 100 degrees in the summer. The state is also battling an obesity problem that gives it poor health rankings.
Flickr/Tim Anderson
Like its New York neighbor, New Jersey’s high taxes and high cost of living make the Garden State undesirable for many retirees. Per capita, N.J. has the worst property tax rate in the country, and a quarter of residents recently polled said they would move elsewhere in retirement to get away from them.
Flickr/Kim Carpenter
It may be beautiful, but paradise comes with a price: With a top income tax rate of 11 percent, Hawaii has among the highest taxes in the country as well as an extremely high cost of living. Plus, it’ll cost you at least a few hundred bucks (more if you’re from the
Like West Virginia and Arkansas, the Blue Grass State has a relatively low life expectancy, poor education attainment and low incomes, giving residents poor scores in economic well-being. The state also ranks among the unhappiest in the nation.
The high crime rate alone is enough to knock Missouri down to the bottom of this list. The state also has high pollution and poor health care scores.
flickr/Katharina
The Beaver State appears near the bottom of the list thanks to dreary weather and a relatively high cost of living. On top of that, the tax structure is not favorable to retirees.
Flickr/Ian Shane