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Florida is No Longer The Best Place In The Country To Retire

By Joe Winner

Florida has always been seen as the retirement capital of the United States. You retire, you go to Florida. Jerry Seinfeld even joked about it. “My parents live in Florida now. They moved there last year. They didn’t want to move to Florida, but they’re in their 60s, and that’s the law.” So with the rapidly expanding populations in Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral and all over most of the state of Florida, how can we not be on top?

Perhaps it’s all catching up to us. First of all, it’s getting very expensive. For instance, I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath in Estero and my bills for mortgage and utilities are $400 more this year than they were in 2022. Add in groceries, and it’s definitely more. And I don’t have to tell you about the price of homes and escalating rent. If you’re retiring and planning to move here, you’re gonna need a whole lot more in the savings than you did just a few years ago.

Hurricanes. Everyone up north watches the Weather Channel when we hit September. It’s quite possible that the 2022 hurricane season may have scared some people.

Politics. It’s very likely that our Governor, Ron DeSantis, is going to run for President. Those who politically oppose him are going to bash Florida non-stop. Expect a lot more negative news about Florida coming our way.

So Florida is no longer the best state in the country to retire.

How do we come up with this?

Wallethub ranked 2023’s Best States to Retire. “To determine the best states to retire, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 47 key indicators of retirement-friendliness.” Their “analysis examines affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life.”

Make no mistake, people are still coming to Florida to retire. But this data shows that they may have a better option.

  • Main Findings

    Source: WalletHub

  • Best State To Retire

    In th Top 5, Virginia barely edges out Florida. Colorado isn’t far behind us.

    Overall Rank  State Total Score  Affordability  Quality of Life  Health Care 
    1 Virginia 57.55 16 11 11
    2 Florida 57.43 9 4 28
    3 Colorado 57.41 14 27 5
    4 Wyoming 55.60 5 9 38
    5 Delaware 55.49 6 33 18

  • Here's an Interesting stat - % of Population Aged 65 & Older

    Highest
    • 1. Maine
    • 2. Florida
    • 3. West Virginia
    • 4. Vermont
    • 5. Delaware
    % of Population Aged 65 & Older
    Lowest
    • 46. Colorado
    • 47. Georgia
    • 48. Texas
    • 49. Alaska
    • 50. Utah
    Best State vs. Worst State: 2x

  • So, Virginia is a better retirement option?

    Going into the data, Wallethub gave Florida a high affordability score. Home prices are going up everywhere, but our lack of a state tax helps us quite a bit. The Florida Quality of Life score is also quite good. When the weather isn’t trying to kill us, it is really nice here. The “Health Care” score is what brought us down. Virginia had higher scores there. Also, Virginia is tax-friendly for retirees. “The state doesn’t tax Social Security benefits. You can deduct up to $12,000 in pension and other retirement income from your state taxable income if you’re a senior.” That’s a pretty good deal. Also, Virginia has wineries, beaches, great food – and the leaves change colors in the fall.

    Here’s 15 Things to Know Before Moving to Virginia

  • So, don't retire to Florida?

    Not saying that. If you got the money, this is still the place to be. It’s getting pretty pricey here, but being in Florida is amazing. To see all the data and how it’s configured – go here.

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