Move over Florida! Iowa is ranked as the best place to retire, while Alaska, New York and California rank the worst

Iowa has been ranked as the best state for retirement due to its reasonable cost of living, affordable yet high-quality health care, and low crime rate.

According to Bankrate’s annual retirement study, the state of Hawkeye overtook historic retirement paradise Florida, which came out on top last year.

Alaska has been labeled the worst state for Americans to spend their later years in.

Bankrate ranked all 50 states for affordability, general well-being, health care quality and cost, weather and crime – and found that the best and worst states for retirees were split geographically.

“The Midwest and South claim the top five states, while the Northeast and West claim the bottom five states, mainly because of cost-of-living differences,” said Bankrate analyst Alex Gailey.

After Iowa, Delaware, West Virginia, Missouri, and Mississippi ranked as the best states to retire to, while New York, California, Washington, and Massachusetts rounded out the bottom five.

It marks a significant change from Bankrate’s 2022 rankings. This year, Florida plummeted from first place to eighth in the top retirement hotspots.

In 2022, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri rounded out the top five, but only the latter remained there this year.

Although the weather in Iowa is colder than Florida, Hawkeye State is the sixth cheapest place to live in the US, according to the Community and Economic Research Councilmaking it an attractive home for retirees looking to expand their steady income in today’s economy.

Lower housing costs also helped support the state when it came to affordability, Bankrate said, and the price of homeowners’ insurance was below the national average.

This is according to data from real estate company Redfinthe median home price in Iowa is $239,000 – well below the nationwide typical home price of $388,800.

While the state lands near the middle of the pack when it comes to taxes, it topped the rankings for high-quality healthcare and low healthcare costs.

In addition, nearly 20 percent of Iowa’s population is 65 and older, according to Census data, making it easier for retirees to meet others of a similar age.

Second on the list, according to Bankrate, is Delaware, which ranks high in the area of ​​well-being due to its high-quality health care and low tax burden.

According to the study, the state leads in racial and ethnic diversity, arts and entertainment facilities per capita, which Iowa lacks.

Ranked third, West Virginia has the best affordability in the country due to its low cost of living and low tax burden.

Fourth and fifth place Missouri and Mississippi also both scored high for affordability — which had the highest weight in the study — but were dragged down by health care and crime.

Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Alaska has been ranked the worst state to retire to — struggling with back-of-the-pack scores on affordability and weather.

New York, California, Massachusetts and Washington rounded out the worst states for retirement due to the high cost of living in the Northeast and Western US.

“For many Americans, a comfortable retirement may feel out of reach,” Gailey said. “After battling high inflation for the past two years, moving to find cheaper housing or a lower cost of living can be a good alternative for retirees who have tighter budgets but want to retire comfortably.”

It comes after it was revealed that the average American has saved just 7 percent of their 401(K) goal, leaving them woefully unprepared for their retirement years.

That reports a Northwestern Mutual studythe typical American thinks he should set aside $1.27 million for retirement, but has only saved $89,300 on average.

Nearly half of those surveyed — some 48 percent — admitted they didn’t think they would have saved enough money for the future they want, according to the findings.

The amount people predict they’ll need to comfortably retire varies slightly by age group, the study found, as does the typical figure they’ve already saved.

People in their 50s expect to need the most — $1.56 million — and have saved an average of $110,900.

Meanwhile, twenty-somethings only think they’ll need $1.2 million later in life, when they only have $35,800 in a 401(K) or IRA retirement account.

The comfortable retirement amount drops significantly for those in their 60s and 70s — to $968,000 and $936,000, respectively — largely because many people in these age groups are already retired.

On average, those over 60 have saved $112,500 and those over 70 have saved $113,900.