• When deciding the best place to retire, it’s important to consider affordability, quality of life, and health care.
  • Minnesota is the best for quality of life and health care but has low affordability for retirees.
  • Florida is the best state for retirees, not surprising considering it has the second-most senior citizens and high scores for affordability and quality of life.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

On a global scale, the United States is 24th on the list of the best countries for retirement.

However, the US is very large and experiences can vary drastically within the country.

If you decide to stay in America when you are done working, you might want to know which state is best for retirement. WalletHub recently released its 2020 retirement rankings. Using 47 metrics in three broad categories, they were able to rank every state to find the best and worst places to retire.

The three main categories used were affordability, quality of life, and health care. WalletHub weighted the affordability section 40% and the other two areas were given equal weight of 30%.

Florida tends to be the first state that comes to mind when retirement communities are brought up, and for good reason. Florida came in first in the overall ranking. The Sunshine State also has the second-highest percentage of residents 65 years and older, WalletHub says, topped only by Maine.

Where you decide to live during retirement depends on what you value. Residents of Hawaii have the highest life expectancy, while the lowest is found in Mississippi. On the other hand, the cost of living is totally flipped with Mississippi coming in first and Hawaii ranked last.

If you are looking to be entertained in retirement, New York might be a good option. Despite the state's lackluster overall rating for retirement, WalletHub's analysis found that the Empire State has the most museums and theaters per capita.

Check out how your home state ranks overall, as well as for each of the three categories: affordability, quality of life, and health care.

Matthew Michaels contributed to a previous version of this article.


50. Kentucky

Foto: Louisville, Kentucky.sourceLeigh Trail/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 32

Quality of life rank: 46

Health care rank: 48


49. New Mexico

Foto: New Mexico.sourceAndriy Blokhin/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 37

Quality of life rank: 45

Health care rank: 38


48. Rhode Island

Foto: Providence, Rhode Island.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 47

Quality of life rank: 38

Health care rank: 25


47. New Jersey

Foto: Jersey City, New Jersey.sourcef11photo/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 48

Quality of life rank: 31

Health care rank: 23


46. West Virginia

Foto: West Virginia.sourceshutterstock/Andriy Blokhin

Affordability rank: 19

Quality of life rank: 40

Health care rank: 50


45. Tennessee

Foto: Tennessee.sourcejoe daniel price/ Getty Images

Affordability rank: 14

Quality of life rank: 48

Health care rank: 46


44. Arkansas

Foto: Little Rock, Arkansas.sourceSean Pavone/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 9

Quality of life rank: 50

Health care rank: 45


43. Mississippi

Foto: Madison, Mississippi.sourceGetty Images

Affordability rank: 5

Quality of life rank: 49

Health care rank: 47


42. New York

Foto: Albany, New York.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 37

Quality of life rank: 45

Health care rank: 38


41. Louisiana

Foto: New Orleans, Louisiana.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 10

Quality of life rank: 44

Health care rank: 43


40. Maryland

Foto: Annapolis, Maryland.sourceNicole S Glass / Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 43

Quality of life rank: 29

Health care rank: 20


39. Alabama

Foto: Alabama football fans.sourceReuters

Affordability rank: 1

Quality of life rank: 47

Health care rank: 49


38. Oregon

Foto: Portland, Oregon.sourcepikappa51/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 41

Quality of life rank: 24

Health care rank: 21


37. Oklahoma

Foto: Oklahoma.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 6

Quality of life rank: 43

Health care rank: 44


36. Vermont

Foto: Norwich, Vermont.sourceBy Bram Reusen / Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 49

Quality of life rank: 6

Health care rank: 9


35. Nevada

Foto: Las Vegas, Nevada.sourcetrekandshoot/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 8

Quality of life rank: 42

Health care rank: 42


34. Indiana

Foto: Indianapolis, Indiana.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 23

Quality of life rank: 33

Health care rank: 41


33. Connecticut

Foto: Hartford, Connecticut.sourceSean Pavone/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 44

Quality of life rank: 23

Health care rank: 5


32. California

Foto: Malibu, California.sourceGetty Images/halbergman

Affordability rank: 38

Quality of life rank: 25

Health care rank: 19


31. Alaska

Foto: Fairbanks, Alaska.sourceEQRoy/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 36

Quality of life rank: 34

Health care rank: 11


30. Georgia

Foto: Atlanta, Georgia.sourceSean Pavone/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 12

Quality of life rank: 41

Health care rank: 40


29. Hawaii

Foto: Honolulu, Hawaii.sourceYoshinori Kumagai/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 45

Quality of life rank: 32

Health care rank: 2


28. Maine

Foto: Maine.sourceJo Ann Snover/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 42

Quality of life rank: 10

Health care rank: 15


27. Washington

Foto: People kayaking in Seattle, Washington.sourceGetty Images/Inti St Clair

Affordability rank: 34

Quality of life rank: 14

Health care rank: 32


26. North Carolina

Foto: Raleigh, North Carolina.sourceSharkshock/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 21

Quality of life rank: 30

Health care rank: 39


25. Nebraska

Foto: Omaha, Nebraska.sourceGetty Images/Matt Bills

Affordability rank: 39

Quality of life rank: 20

Health care rank: 10


24. Kansas

Foto: Derby, Kansas.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 25

Quality of life rank: 26

Health care rank: 35


23. Illinois

Foto: Chicago, Illinois.sourceHelen Sessions/Alamy

Affordability rank: 35

Quality of life rank: 21

Health care rank: 16


22. Arizona

Foto: Arizona.sourceMatt Mawson/ Getty Images

Affordability rank: 30

Quality of life rank: 36

Health care rank: 12


21. Michigan

Foto: Traverse City, Michigan.sourceGary Richard Ennis / Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 28

Quality of life rank: 16

Health care rank: 31


20. Missouri

Foto: Kansas City, Missouri.sourcef11photo/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 22

Quality of life rank: 28

Health care rank: 29


19. North Dakota

Foto: North Dakota.sourceBob Pool/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 33

Quality of life rank: 22

Health care rank: 8


18. South Carolina

Foto: Hilton Head, South Carolina.sourceiStock/Sean Pavone

Affordability rank: 37

Quality of life rank: 45

Health care rank: 38


17. Texas

Foto: Austin, Texas.sourceReuters

Affordability rank: 3

Quality of life rank: 37

Health care rank: 37


16. Minnesota

Foto: Minnetrista, Minnesota.sourceCityofminnetrista.com

Affordability rank: 46

Quality of life rank: 1

Health care rank: 1


15. Ohio

Foto: Columbus, Ohio.sourceSean Pavone/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 16

Quality of life rank: 17

Health care rank: 34


14. Massachusetts

Foto: Boston, Massachusetts.sourceSean Pavone/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 40

Quality of life rank: 2

Health care rank: 3


13. Pennsylvania

Foto: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 29

Quality of life rank: 3

Health care rank: 27


12. Montana

Foto: Bozeman, Montana.sourceGetty Images

Affordability rank: 20

Quality of life rank: 15

Health care rank: 28


11. South Dakota

Foto: Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.sourceJ. Pat Hodges/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 26

Quality of life rank: 27

Health care rank: 7


10. Iowa

Foto: Akron, Iowa.sourceReuters

Affordability rank: 31

Quality of life rank: 7

Health care rank: 13


9. Idaho

Foto: Boise, Idaho.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 13

Quality of life rank: 19

Health care rank: 30


8. Wisconsin

Foto: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.sourceiStock / Aneese

Affordability rank: 24

Quality of life rank: 8

Health care rank: 22


7. Virginia

Foto: Richmond, Virginia.sourceJames Kirkikis/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 18

Quality of life rank: 13

Health care rank: 24


6. Delaware

Foto: Dover, Delaware.sourceJon Bilous/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 7

Quality of life rank: 35

Health care rank: 18


5. Wyoming

Foto: Sheridan, Wyoming.sourceShutterstock

Affordability rank: 11

Quality of life rank: 12

Health care rank: 33


4. Utah

Foto: Zion National Park near Springdale, Utah.sourceAssociated Press

Affordability rank: 15

Quality of life rank: 18

Health care rank: 17


3. New Hampshire

Foto: Hanover, New Hampshire.sourceDan Lewis / Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 27

Quality of life rank: 4

Health care rank: 6


2. Colorado

Foto: Steamboat Springs, Colorado.sourceLikoper/Shutterstock

Affordability rank: 17

Quality of life rank: 11

Health care rank: 4


1. Florida

Foto: Florida.sourceAP Photo/Chris O'Meara

Affordability rank: 2

Quality of life rank: 5

Health care rank: 26