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WalletHub ranked the best US states for retirees in 2026.
Its report compared affordability, quality of life, and healthcare across states.
Wyoming and Florida topped the list, while Kentucky ranked last.
Retirement is full of decisions, and the state you choose to retire in could be the most important one.
A recent WalletHub study pitted the 50 states against one another across three main categories — affordability, quality of life, and healthcare — to determine the best places for retirement.
The three factors were assessed using 46 different metrics. To determine a state's affordability, metrics such as adjusted cost of living and retired taxpayer-friendliness were considered. Quality of life included metrics such as the risk of social isolation , the mildness of the weather, and even the number of bingo halls per capita, while the healthcare category considered metrics such as nurses, dentists, and health aides per capita, life expectancy, and more.
"Retirement is supposed to be relaxing, but it can also be incredibly stressful given that it typically puts people on a fixed income, which may not be enough for them to live comfortably," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the study. "As a result, the best states for retirees are those that have low taxes and a low cost of living to help retirees' budgets stretch as far as possible."
WalletHub used data from the US Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other sources.
These are the states to retire in, ranked from worst to best.
50. Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky. alexeys/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 34 Quality-of-life rank: 42 Healthcare rank: 47
With low rankings across all three categories, WalletHub found Kentucky to be the worst state for retirees in 2026.
49. Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 31 Quality-of-life rank: 48 Healthcare rank: 43
48. Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi. Dennis MacDonald/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 9 Quality-of-life rank: 49 Healthcare rank: 49
47. West Virginia
Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Samuel Frontino/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 18 Quality-of-life rank: 41 Healthcare rank: 50
46. Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii. Iryna Olkhova/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 49 Quality-of-life rank: 21 Healthcare rank: 11
45. New York
New York City, New York. Brian Logan/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 50 Quality-of-life rank: 12 Healthcare rank: 12
44. Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Affordability rank: 11 Quality-of-life rank: 50 Healthcare rank: 45
43. Washington
Seattle, Washington. SCStock/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 46 Quality-of-life rank: 17 Healthcare rank: 17
42. Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island. Sanghwan Kim/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 40 Quality-of-life rank: 39 Healthcare rank: 21
41. New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 30 Quality-of-life rank: 44 Healthcare rank: 36
40. Oregon
Portland, Oregon. Nicholas Klein/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 43 Quality-of-life rank: 27 Healthcare rank: 24
39. Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. felixmizioznikov/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Affordability rank: 12 Quality-of-life rank: 46 Healthcare rank: 46
38. Illinois
Rockford, Illinois. GummyBone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 42 Quality-of-life rank: 14 Healthcare rank: 30
37. Alabama
Mobile, Alabama. Cavan Images/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Affordability rank: 8 Quality-of-life rank: 43 Healthcare rank: 48
36. Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland PBallay/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 41 Quality-of-life rank: 20 Healthcare rank: 22
35. New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey. Leonid Andronov/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 45 Quality-of-life rank: 30 Healthcare rank: 9
34. Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut. Ashley RK Smith/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 44 Quality-of-life rank: 23 Healthcare rank: 6
33. Texas
Austin, Texas. BackyardProduction/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 25 Quality-of-life rank: 38 Healthcare rank: 39
32. Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee. Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 4 Quality-of-life rank: 47 Healthcare rank: 44
31. Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 38 Quality-of-life rank: 28 Healthcare rank: 19
30. Vermont
Montpelier, Vermont. jenifoto/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 47 Quality-of-life rank: 3 Healthcare rank: 10
29. Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia. Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 16 Quality-of-life rank: 40 Healthcare rank: 40
28. Nevada
Reno, Nevada. miroslav_1/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Affordability rank: 5 Quality-of-life rank: 45 Healthcare rank: 42
27. Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah. Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 35 Quality-of-life rank: 18 Healthcare rank: 31
26. Kansas
Topeka, Kansas. ChrisBoswell/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 29 Quality-of-life rank: 31 Healthcare rank: 35
25. California
Santa Barbara, California. Veronica Slavin/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 39 Quality-of-life rank: 22 Healthcare rank: 8
24. Montana
Bozeman, Montana. GummyBone/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 36 Quality-of-life rank: 10 Healthcare rank: 23
23. Massachusetts
Waltham, Massachusetts. Bo Shen/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 48 Quality-of-life rank: 2 Healthcare rank: 2
22. Indiana
New Albany, Indiana. AUSTIN MEURER/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 14 Quality-of-life rank: 35 Healthcare rank: 41
21. Michigan
Manistee, Michigan. otman lazrak/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 32 Quality-of-life rank: 16 Healthcare rank: 29
20. Ohio
Akron, Ohio. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Affordability rank: 22 Quality-of-life rank: 13 Healthcare rank: 38
19. Maine
Camden, Maine. AlbertPego/Getty Images
Affordability rank: 37 Quality-of-life rank: 4 Hea...
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