Best states to retire in the US, in tiers
For Americans deciding which state to retire to, and for anyone weighing a US state against a move abroad. We place the 50 states and D.C. in tiers on six criteria, weighted equally: cost of living, taxes on a retired couple, healthcare access, safety, climate and natural-hazard risk. Every figure behind a tier is shown with its source and date.
Taxes on a retired couple
The 50 states and D.C. by taxes on a retired couple: state and local tax on the example retired couple, USD a year; lower is better. States between two lines cannot be told apart on this figure's published margin, so their order there is not a claim.
| State | Taxes on a retired couple | Against the others |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | USD $1,027 | lower than 100% of the others |
| Alabama | USD $1,314 | lower than 98% of the others |
| Nevada | USD $1,629 | lower than 96% of the others |
| Colorado | USD $1,688 | lower than 94% of the others |
| South Carolina | USD $1,691 | lower than 92% of the others |
| Idaho | USD $1,740 | lower than 90% of the others |
| Delaware | USD $1,758 | lower than 88% of the others |
| Tennessee | USD $1,760 | lower than 86% of the others |
| Arizona | USD $1,900 | lower than 84% of the others |
| Louisiana | USD $1,908 | lower than 82% of the others |
| Wyoming | USD $1,997 | lower than 80% of the others |
| Utah | USD $2,198 | lower than 78% of the others |
| California | USD $2,441 | lower than 76% of the others |
| Mississippi | USD $2,504 | lower than 74% of the others |
| Virginia | USD $2,546 | lower than 72% of the others |
| Arkansas | USD $2,552 | lower than 70% of the others |
| District of Columbia | USD $2,557 | lower than 68% of the others |
| Kentucky | USD $2,628 | lower than 66% of the others |
| New Mexico | USD $2,634 | lower than 64% of the others |
| Florida | USD $2,662 | lower than 62% of the others |
| Georgia | USD $2,701 | lower than 60% of the others |
| Washington | USD $2,824 | lower than 58% of the others |
| Oklahoma | USD $2,955 | lower than 56% of the others |
| West Virginia | USD $3,073 | lower than 54% of the others |
| Montana | USD $3,117 | lower than 52% of the others |
| North Carolina | USD $3,126 | lower than 50% of the others |
| Missouri | USD $3,140 | lower than 48% of the others |
| North Dakota | USD $3,457 | lower than 46% of the others |
| Maryland | USD $3,495 | lower than 44% of the others |
| Maine | USD $3,583 | lower than 42% of the others |
| South Dakota | USD $3,704 | lower than 40% of the others |
| Alaska | USD $3,869 | lower than 38% of the others |
| Indiana | USD $4,024 | lower than 36% of the others |
| Minnesota | USD $4,213 | lower than 34% of the others |
| Rhode Island | USD $4,243 | lower than 32% of the others |
| Michigan | USD $4,389 | lower than 30% of the others |
| Pennsylvania | USD $4,553 | lower than 28% of the others |
| Oregon | USD $4,758 | lower than 26% of the others |
| Iowa | USD $4,875 | lower than 24% of the others |
| Wisconsin | USD $4,980 | lower than 22% of the others |
| Ohio | USD $5,019 | lower than 20% of the others |
| Texas | USD $5,219 | lower than 18% of the others |
| Kansas | USD $5,394 | lower than 16% of the others |
| New York | USD $5,436 | lower than 14% of the others |
| Massachusetts | USD $5,471 | lower than 12% of the others |
| Nebraska | USD $5,640 | lower than 10% of the others |
| New Hampshire | USD $5,797 | lower than 8% of the others |
| Vermont | USD $6,213 | lower than 6% of the others |
| Connecticut | USD $6,337 | lower than 4% of the others |
| Illinois | USD $7,043 | lower than 2% of the others |
| New Jersey | USD $7,387 | lower than 0% of the others |
Each state's published 2025 income-tax rules and the Census ACS property-tax ratio, applied to the example household · figures as of 2025