Hundreds of thousands of seniors flock to sunny Florida or Southern California every year, but a new report has revealed America’s hidden gem states for retirement.
The Midwest and Western U.S. dominated the list of the best areas for senior health and wellness, with Wisconsin taking the top spot, followed by Minnesota.
Both had well-being scores of more than eight out of 10, which took into account access to health care, risk of social isolation, senior living facilities per capita, poverty rate and social support.
Florida and California aren’t even in the top 10.
The ranking measures key factors such as access to and quality of healthcare, social support for seniors, quality of life, healthy life expectancy and poverty rates to identify the best retirement havens. They were combined into one score
Meanwhile, Southern states, led by Oklahoma, Mississippi and Alabama, made up the bulk of the worst states for seniors to retire.
The US did not score well in Universal Drugstore’s ranking Well-being report for seniorswhich ranked the best places to retire worldwide.
The report’s authors said: ‘While growing older can bring numerous challenges, it doesn’t have to stop us from enjoying our senior years.
‘Aging is a natural part of life, so why not make the most of it and enjoy your golden years to the fullest?’
The U.S. came in 26th out of 38 countries with a senior wellness score of 3.78.
The well-being score was calculated by combining data from various factors that influence the well-being of seniors.
These factors are collected from various sources and weighted equally to form a composite score.
For countries, the score took into account access to and quality of healthcare, social support for people aged 50 and over, quality of life and healthy life expectancy at age 60.
For US states, the score included risk of social isolation, access to health care, available senior housing facilities per 100,000 residents, and poverty among seniors. All of these factors were equally weighted to rank locations based on senior wellness.
Wisconsin ranks first, with a well-being score of 8.62, thanks to its low poverty rate, abundant senior housing facilities and relatively low risk of social isolation.
Minnesota followed in second place with a score of 8.21, performing well on most factors, including a low poverty rate and reasonable access to senior housing facilities.
Vermont came in third with a score of 8.11, standing out for its access to health care and balanced performance across all factors.
Washington state came in fourth, with a well-being score of 8.06, followed by Iowa with a score of 8.01 and Idaho with a score of 7.81.
After Idaho came Maryland, with a score of 7.4, Oregon with 7.14, New Hampshire with 7.09 and Kansas with 7.04.
Seniors need social support to thrive. The states that scored lowest on the risk of social isolation were New Hampshire, Idaho and Minnesota
Easy access to healthcare is paramount for seniors, who are more susceptible to serious viral and bacterial infections, fractures and falls
People’s senior years can also include time in a nursing home or other type of long-term care facility.
Oregon had the highest senior housing facilities per capita, about 29 per 100,000, followed by Wisconsin, with about 22 per 100,000.
Social support is also crucial to prevent debilitating loneliness and keep an older person’s mind active.
Risk of social isolation measures the likelihood that seniors will experience a lack of social connections, including interactions with family, friends and community members.
The risk was lowest in New Hampshire and Idaho, at 24th and 26th respectively, followed by Minnesota, at 35th, and Wisconsin, at 37th.
The worst-ranked states shared high poverty rates among seniors, poor access to health care, a high risk of social isolation and a lack of senior living facilities. These factors have contributed to a lower overall quality of life for older adults
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At the other end of the spectrum was Oklahoma, with the lowest well-being score of 0.87.
The risk of social isolation was 77, and the number of senior housing units per capita was 4.14. The poverty rate among seniors was also high: 15.4 percent.
The average poverty rate averaged about 6.5 percent across the ten states.
After coming to Mississippi, Oklahoma ranked second in well-being at 0.97, had a poverty rate of 14.9 percent, fewer than six retirement communities per capita, a social isolation risk of 100, and was second to last in the country in terms of access to healthcare. .
Then came Alabama, with a well-being score of 1.5, a poverty rate of nearly 14 percent, 4.3 senior housing facilities per capita, an isolation risk score of 83 and the 38th worst score for access to health care.
Louisiana was fourth worst at 1.79, followed by New Mexico at 1.84 and Arkansas at 2.04. West Virginia was allied with Arkansas.
Texas finished in eighth place with a score of 2.19, followed by Kentucky at 2.60 and New York with a score of 2.81.
U.S. life expectancy was lower than that of the top-performing countries, including Switzerland, Iceland and Norway.
Seniors are prone to infections and falls, making access to healthcare crucial. The states that scored the highest in this regard included Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland and Iowa
While Americans can live to an average of about 76 years, life expectancy in several European countries exceeds 19 years after they reach 60 years of age.
The U.S. population approaching retirement is growing as most of the population ages. At the same time, fewer babies are being born in the US than ever before. There were 55 births for every 1,000 women of childbearing age in 2023, CDC data shows, fewer than any other year on record.
The birth rate fell after the Great Recession of 2008 and never fully recovered.
In addition to considering the financial toll of having a child, millions of women choose to prioritize their career and personal growth before having a baby. For this reason, births are shifting to older mothers, with birth rates highest among women ages 30 to 34.
Retirement can also be expensive. More than half of Americans who work full-time, part-time, or are temporarily unemployed are concerned about their ability to finance their retirement. Nearly half of employees with specific retirement goals, such as traveling, don’t see the money to do so in the future.
Many older Americans cannot retire at the traditional retirement age of 65.
In the past, pensions and social security provided retirees with financial security, allowing them to retire with dignity. But today, only 10 percent of Americans Retirees between the ages of 62 and 70 are financially stable, according to research by labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci of The New School for Social Research.
Most older Americans retire with a lower standard of living than when they were working, or cannot afford to retire at all.