Retiring In Arizona? You May Want To Rethink That

PHOENIX, AZ — If you’re thinking about retirement, a new report suggests you may want to avoid Arizona and head to greener pastures — like South Dakota. The financing consultant firm Bankrate, based in New York City, recently ranked the best — and worst — states for retirement. South Dakota topped the list with particularly high marks for well-being and taxes (residents don’t pay income taxes and apparently live in the second most tax-friendly state, according to the Tax Foundation).

Meanwhile, Arizona, colloquially known as a good place for retirees, ranked just 29th in the country for retirement, with its best scores coming in weather and well-being.

Here’s a breakdown of Arizona:

• Overall rank: 29
• Cost of living: 34
• Crime: 43
• Culture: 39
• Health care quality: 27
• Taxes: 21
• Weather: 11
• Well-being: 15

After South Dakota, the authors said the best places to retire are Utah, Idaho, New Hampshire and, yes, Florida. Hawaii has the best weather while New Hampshire is best for low crime. Wyoming is best for taxes and South Dakota ranked first for well-being. Vermont ranked No. 1 for culture, Mississippi is best for a low cost of living and Minnesota is best for health care.

On the flip side, the authors say New York, New Mexico, Maryland, Louisiana and Arkansas are the five worst places to retire, with New York ranking dead-last in cost of living and second-to-last in taxes. New Mexico is worst for crime and second-worst for quality of health care.

But above all, the authors noted love might be the most important factor in retirement over anything.

Your relationship with your spouse “plays an outsized role in your happiness in retirement,” the authors wrote, citing a recent research paper. That bond is even more impactful than how you spend your money or the size of your “nest egg.” “A married retiree who has a poor-quality spousal relationship is worse off than an unmarried retiree in terms of life satisfaction,” the paper’s authors write. “However, a married retiree with a high-quality spousal relationship is much better off than an unmarried retiree.”

Bankrate used government and expert sources to compare each state. The authors then weighted those rankings based on responses to a 2017 survey it conducted last year that found 47 percent of Americans would consider moving when they retire.

Cost of living and taxes received the greatest weight at 20 percent. Health care quality and weather received a 15 percent weight while crime, cultural vitality and well-being received 10 percent. The data came from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The Council for Community and Economic Research, FBI, Gallup-Sharecare, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tax Foundation, University of Hawaii at Manoa and Western States Arts Federation.

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