When picturing retirement, many envision a peaceful life, plentiful experiences, and thriving in a location that elevates their quality of life. However, not every state in the U.S. is tailor-made for this vision. The retirement landscape is sharply contrasted across the country with thriving retirement paradises at one end and states posing continual challenges to retirees at the other. To navigate this landscape, it is essential to consider factors such as a state's cost of living, crime rate, weather conditions, quality of healthcare, and taxation status on social security benefits.
The 'Retirement Index Score' offers a structured way to evaluate states for retirement, with lower scores indicative of less favorable conditions for retirees.
In examining the dataset, several key findings surface: