One in five Americans is now older than 60, and U.S. citizens' life expectancy is 78.7 years, according to a new report from Blacktower Financial Management Group, which cited U.S. Census Bureau and World Bank statistics. As more Americans live longer, thanks to improved health care, medicines and lifestyle changes, they are thinking about where they would like to spend their retirement years. Blacktower ranked the 50 states according to their desirability for retirement, based on several criteria that are certain to influence people's decisions. The rankings are an updated version of the firm's 2019 study. Researchers calculated the index first by normalizing the data categories individually from 0 to 1 and then summing the results:
  • Crime: The state with the highest rate of crime (per 100,000) would be weighted closer to 0
  • Cost of living: The state with the highest cost (on a 100-point scale) is weighted closer to 0
  • Population 60 and older: lower percentage of the population is weighted closer to 0
  • Property prices: higher property prices are weighted down
  • Life expectancy: lower expectancy longevity is weighted down
Some states maintained their 2019 positions in the top 10, others fell out and a couple leap-frogged into the elite group. See the gallery above for the 10 best states for retirement. Related:  

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Michael S. Fischer

Michael S. Fischer is a longtime contributing writer for ThinkAdvisor. He previously reported on trade and intellectual property topics for the Economist Intelligence Unit and covered the hedge fund industry for MARHedge and Reuters News Service.

Personal Lines
Personal Lines