Worst place to retire: Lander
- Percentage of population over 65: 18.6
- Average home value: $346,255
- Annual expenditures: $50,316
- Livability score: 72
Where to retire instead: Sheridan
- Percentage of population over 65: 19.6
- Average home value: $388,063
- Annual expenditures: $50,785
- Livability score: 83
No matter which state you choose to retire to, there are plenty of options — this guide can help you pick a new home that will be a little easier on your wallet.
Jordan Rosenfeld and Jake Arky contributed to the reporting for this article.
In order to find the worst places to spend your golden years and where to retire instead, GOBankingRates first found every city in each state that had both a population over 25,000 and a population of people 65 years and older over 16.8% (the national average) of the total population as sourced from the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau. Once these cities were identified for each state, GOBankingRates scored them across the following factors: (1) population over 65 as sourced from the 2021 American Community Survey; (2) percent of total population 65 years and older as sourced from the 2021 American Community Survey; (3) the 2023 average single family residence Zillow home value index as sourced from Zillow’s housing data through February 2023; (4) annual expenditures for a person 65 and older using the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s 2021 consumer expenditure survey, which was then factored out for each city using a cost of living index sourced from Sperling’s Best Places; and (5) a livability score out of 100 as sourced from AreaVibes. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Once all scores were tabulated, the qualifying city with the highest overall score was deemed that state’s “worst place to spend your golden years” and the city with the lowest score was deemed “where to retire to instead”. For some states, the population requirement was lowered to have a better representation of desirable cities (20,000 for MS, NE, NH and OK; 15,000 for AR, GA, NM; 10,000 for DE; and 5,000 for ND and WY). Alaska and Vermont did not have enough cities to be included in the final list. All data was collected and is up to date as of April 17, 2023.
Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only. As a result, some of the photos might not reflect the locations listed in this article.
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