Looking for a place to retire? This new study says you should stay in Idaho. Here’s why
Are you or a loved one nearing retirement age and looking for the best place to settle down? Perhaps a lovely house by the beach will do nicely, or an apartment in the hubbub of a big city where everything is within walking distance?
Or … you could just stay in Idaho?
According to a recent study from the personal finance website WalletHub, Idaho is the ninth-best state to retire for those looking to keep some spare change in their pockets.
The need for retirees to save money is more important than ever nowadays — 25% of non-retired adults haven’t saved any money for retirement yet, according to the Federal Reserve, and only 40% think their retirement savings are on track.
Additionally, Social Security benefits replace only about 37% of an average worker’s earnings, according to a 2021 study by the Social Security Administration.
With those figures in mind, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 47 key indicators of retirement-friendliness.
Idaho was decidedly one of the best places west of the Rocky Mountains to retire. Utah was 11th, while Oregon (38th) and Washington state (43rd) trailed far behind.
To determine the best and worst states, WalletHub used three key dimensions to formulate the rankings: affordability, quality of life and health care.
Under those three dimensions are 47 key indicators, such as the annual cost of in-home services (affordability), risk of social isolation (quality of life), and percentage of residents vaccinated for COVID-19 (health care).
Data was gathered from the County Health Rankings, the Tax Foundation and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, among other sources.
Idaho earned a score of 53.2, narrowly behind 8th-place Minnesota (53.5) and ahead of 10th-place North Dakota (53.03). Under the key dimensions, Idaho ranked 15th in affordability, 17th in quality of life and 31st in health care.
Under the key indicators, Idaho notably ranked third-best for the lowest property-crime rate.
Who is Idaho competing with?
WalletHub’s Top 10 states and their cumulative scores:
Virginia (57.55)
Florida (57.43)
Colorado (57.41)
Wyoming (55.6)
Delaware (55.60)
New Hampshire (55)
South Dakota (53.61)
Minnesota (53.5)
Idaho (53.2)
North Dakota (53.03)
This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 11:08 AM.
