(The Center Square) – A new study says Illinois is not the place to be for retirement.
The personal finance website WalletHub has released the report “2024’s Best and Worst States to Retire.” Researchers analyzed 46 metrics to determine their ranking, including cost of living, life expectancy and crime rate.
According to the study, Illinois is ranked near the bottom at No. 41. Analyst Cassandra Happe said what hurt Illinois’ retirement ranking was the taxpayer category.
“Illinois came in at the bottom of the list on that particular study mainly because the difference between the tax rate and the U.S. average is almost 40% more, so the taxes seem to be a lot higher in Illinois,” said Happe.
Illinois also scored poorly in the health care facilities per capita category, ranking 48th in the country.
It is no secret many Illinoisans have fled the state, with many going to Florida, which is tops for the best state to retire in.
“What we found in our study for Florida is that they have a great ranking for the quality of life, they came out on top there, and they came in fourth place for affordability,” said Happe.
Rounding out the top five were Colorado, Virginia, Delaware and Wyoming.
The study ranked Kentucky, New Jersey, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Oklahoma as the worst states to retire in.
