The 10 worst U.S. states to retire—6 are in the South
In addition to looking for options that meet most of your needs, you'll want to consider any major downsides or trade-offs you'd have to make, such as a lack of accessible health care or a high cost of living.
Financial services website Bankrate recently ranked all 50 states based on 15 metrics, including affordability, health care and weather, to determine the best and worst places to retire in the U.S. The study used data from a variety of sources, including the Council for Community and Economic Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The metrics were weighed according to survey responses gathered by Bankrate in May 2025 on what Americans say are their top priorities for choosing a retirement destination. As a result, affordability, weather and neighborhood safety influenced overall scores the most.
Here are the 10 worst states to retire, according to Bankrate, where you may have to compromise when it comes to cost, safety and access to health care:
Weather also played a significant role in landing several of these states at the bottom of the overall rankings. Louisiana ranked No. 39 for weather and Texas came in at No. 47 in that category.
"Natural disasters really degraded the scores of almost every state across the Gulf. Texas, Florida — even states that you really think about as primary retirement destinations," Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and Bankrate financial analyst, tells CNBC Make It. "They didn't do as well in the weather category because of their propensity to have hurricanes and other natural disasters."
It can be helpful to consider these rankings and the metrics used to determine them, but ultimately, the best place for you to retire will depend on your personal preferences.
Retiring in Louisiana or Oklahoma may look challenging based on these metrics, for example, but if that's where your family lives and you want to be close to them, it may be worth planning ahead and figuring out how to live well there, despite potential drawbacks.
If living in a tax-friendly state is important to you, Wyoming may be your best fit, Kates says. The state came in at No. 3 overall and No. 1 for tax-friendliness. But you'd be giving up other potential amenities.
"You pay very little state taxes, but you have little access to some of the other things that you may want," he says. "Wyoming is not great for arts and entertainment — it's a big, more rural place."
Conditions can also vary greatly within a given state when it comes to metrics like neighborhood safety. State-level data can be a good place to start, but you may need to dig deeper or visit in person to determine if an area is right for you, especially if you're considering a big state like California or Texas, Kates says.
"Where you live in California or Texas or Florida, or any state, is going to matter because we're aggregating a lot of data," he says. "If you live in Los Angeles, it's going to be very different than if you live in Sacramento or La Jolla; if you live in Dallas, very different [than] Houston."
You may choose not to relocate in retirement, or prefer to wait until later on to make a move. As people live longer than they used to and thus may be retired longer, it's wise to think about your retirement in phases, Kates says.
"It's a lot more than just putting a pin on the map and saying, 'This is the place,'" he says. "If you're going to live in retirement for 25 or 30 years, there's going to be phases of that. And how you figure that out is extremely relevant."
If you want to dedicate time to traveling in your early retirement years, it may not make sense to also try to move your home base during that period. But a decade or so later, you may be more interested in settling down somewhere new.
Kates calls these the "go, low-go and no-go" phases of retirement, alluding to idea that as you get older, you'll likely want or need to slow down.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Upturn
4 hours ago
- Business Upturn
Former CIA Insider Highlights America's Buried Advantage in Online Presentation
By GlobeNewswire Published on July 28, 2025, 02:00 IST Washington, D.C., July 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rediscovering America's Strategic Core In a released presentation , renowned former national security advisor Jim Rickards warns that the next major shift in U.S. policy may come not from Wall Street or Washington—but from beneath the surface of federally controlled lands. 'This story is not about real estate… the government retained the most valuable part'. Rickards points to a dormant but active legal provision—originally designed to encourage domestic growth—which may now hold the key to America's technological future. The Invisible Wiring of Modern Power The materials Rickards identifies are not commodities in the traditional sense—they are foundational enablers of global advancement: Application Mineral Inputs AI Chips & Data Centers Silicon, gallium, germanium, copper EV Batteries Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite Missile Systems & Drones Neodymium, dysprosium, samarium, rare earth alloys Satellite Navigation Indium, tantalum, beryllium, aluminum 'These seemingly obscure minerals… they're the building blocks of everything from NVIDIA chips to advanced military weapons'. Sources: U.S. Department of Energy CSIS Visual Capitalist A 150-Year-Old Law, Still in Effect Rickards centers the opportunity on Title 30—a little-known federal statute from the 1800s that allowed Americans to claim rights to public lands, which were often rich in mineral deposits. 'Back then, anyone could make a claim… pay $2 to $5 per acre… and do a minimal amount of work'. The framework still exists—and Rickards believes it may quietly be resurfacing to address modern strategic needs without requiring congressional debate. Technology May Be the Catalyst Rickards believes a convergence of technology and geopolitics is making this moment different: The use of AI mapping tools to identify previously unreachable mineral deposits The Pentagon's direct involvement in securing U.S. rare-earth supply chains Escalating foreign control over strategic mineral exports 'We have truly massive mineral wealth here. It's not hard to extract. We know where it is. And how to get it' About Jim Rickards Jim Rickards is a former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, White House, and Treasury. His work has guided U.S. leadership during global crises including the Iran Hostage Situation and the 2008 financial collapse. He is the editor of Strategic Intelligence , a monthly report on national security, macroeconomics, and resource policy. Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash GlobeNewswire provides press release distribution services globally, with substantial operations in North America and Europe.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Walmart launches plan to steal customers away from Target, Amazon
If you're looking for a deal, you probably think to wait until the holidays, when most retailers launch big Black Friday sales. This is a sound idea; the holiday shopping season remains the most lucrative time of the year for most retailers. Related: Walmart cracks down on a growing type of fraud But the back-to-school shopping season is kind of like Black Friday's little sister. "The back-to-school shopping period from July to mid-September is the second-biggest sales driver of the year after the holiday season," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports. Every year, usually in the weeks that lead up to late August or early September, most big-box retail stores hold their own versions of back-to-school sales. It may seem gimmicky to celebrate a pretty routine part of the year to get shoppers through the door, but it works. "Americans are expected to spend $38.8 billion on clothes and supplies for children in grades K-12, and $86.6 billion on college students," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, per a 2024 National Retail Federation report. But tariffs, rising prices, and inflation complicate this picture. Many families have indicated they'll either slow their spending or specifically shop at discount retailers in search of deals. Some retailers, like Walmart (WMT) , are poised to win in such an environment. Image Source: Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images The late summertime is typically a busy shopping period for Walmart. Customers are shopping for vacation, outdoor activities, picnics, and barbecues. And the most prepared ones begin to trickle in around mid-July for back-to-school shopping. More Retail: Walmart makes drastic change to fight theft amid worrying trendTarget has new plan to win back customers with big savingsHome Depot makes clear statement amid boycott threatsFamous retail chain makes two more alarming store closures So Walmart has decided to roll back the cost of some crucial items for families. The Arkansas-based retailer has cut the price of its top 14 most popular items to prices lower than they were one year prior. Some items are as low as $0.25, and its popular private brand Wonder Nation backpack is less than $5 at just $4.98. All told, Walmart says a student can get outfitted for the new year for just $65. But tariffs, which are duties on imported goods, have complicated the typically profitable back-to-school shopping period. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon explained the complication during the Q1 2026 earnings call. "We started to see increases happen in April and through May. We've been really focused on back-to-school receipts," McMillon explained. "When you have an imported item, you pay the tariff at the time it comes through customs. And so the cost is higher, even if the tariff rate comes down later, the cost has been elevated. McMillon added that tariffs could touch certain items, including back-to-school supplies, with an outsized effect. "So I wouldn't think of this as a moment in time necessarily, except when you think about seasonal things like back-to-school." Other top retailers, including Target (TGT) and Amazon (AMZN) , are also hosting early back-to-school promotions. Amazon's Prime Day served as its early back-to-school launch. It featured deals on books, notebooks, and pens for as low as $3. And Target announced it would put over 20 items on sale for back-to-school. The Minnesota-based retailer said it was freezing the prices of these items at 2024 prices. It claims students can bundle most of their school essentials for just around $20. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
The Hill
7 hours ago
- The Hill
US-EU trade deal wards off further escalation but will raise costs for companies, consumers
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, warding off Trump's threat of a 30% rate if no deal had been reached by Aug. 1. The tariffs, or import taxes, paid when Americans buy European products could raise prices for U.S. consumers and dent profits for European companies and their partners who bring goods into the country. Here are some things to know about the trade deal between the United States and the European Union: What's in the agreement? Trump and von der Leyen's announcement, made during Trump's visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland, leaves many details to be filled in. The headline figure is a 15% tariff rate on 'the vast majority' of European goods brought into the U.S., including cars, computer chips and pharmaceuticals. It's lower than the 20% Trump initially proposed, and lower than his threats of 50% and then 30%. Von der Leyen said the two sides agreed on zero tariffs on both sides for a range of 'strategic' goods: Aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, and some natural resources and critical raw materials. Specifics were lacking. She said the two sides 'would keep working' to add more products to the list. Additionally, the EU side would purchase what Trump said was $750 billion (638 billion euros) worth of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel to replace Russian energy supplies, and Europeans would invest an additional $600 billion (511 billion euros) in the U.S. What's not in the deal? Trump said the 50% U.S. tariff on imported steel would remain; von der Leyen said the two sides agreed to further negotiations to fight a global steel glut, reduce tariffs and establish import quotas — that is, set amounts that can be imported, often at a lower rate. Trump said pharmaceuticals were not included in the deal. Von der Leyen said the pharmaceuticals issue was 'on a separate sheet of paper' from Sunday's deal. Where the $600 billion for additional investment would come from was not specified. And von der Leyen said that when it came to farm products, the EU side made clear that 'there were tariffs that could not be lowered,' without specifying which products. What's the impact? The 15% rate removes Trump's threat of a 30% tariff. It's still much higher than the average tariff before Trump came into office of around 1%, and higher than Trump's minimum 10% baseline tariff. Higher tariffs, or import taxes, on European goods mean sellers in the U.S. would have to either increase prices for consumers — risking loss of market share — or swallow the added cost in terms of lower profits. The higher tariffs are expected to hurt export earnings for European firms and slow the economy. The 10% baseline applied while the deal was negotiated was already sufficiently high to make the European Union's executive commission cut its growth forecast for this year from 1.3% to 0.9%. Von der Leyen said the 15% rate was 'the best we could do' and credited the deal with maintaining access to the U.S. market and providing 'stability and predictability for companies on both sides.' What is some of the reaction to the deal? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal which avoided 'an unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations' and said that 'we were able to preserve our core interests,' while adding that 'I would have very much wished for further relief in transatlantic trade.' The Federation of German Industries was blunter. 'Even a 15% tariff rate will have immense negative effects on export-oriented German industry,' said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the federation's leadership. While the rate is lower than threatened, 'the big caveat to today's deal is that there is nothing on paper, yet,' said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank. 'With this disclaimer in mind and at face value, today's agreement would clearly bring an end to the uncertainty of recent months. An escalation of the US-EU trade tensions would have been a severe risk for the global economy,' Brzeski said. 'This risk seems to have been avoided.' What about car companies? Asked if European carmakers could still sell cars at 15%, von der Leyen said the rate was much lower than the current 27.5%. That has been the rate under Trump's 25% tariff on cars from all countries, plus the preexisting U.S. car tariff of 2.5%. The impact is likely to be substantial on some companies, given that automaker Volkswagen said it suffered a 1.3 billion euro ($1.5 billion) hit to profit in the first half of the year from the higher tariffs. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the U.S. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo 'significant increases' in coming years. What were the issues dividing the two sides? Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained generally low tariff levels in what is the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, with some 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in annual trade. Together the U.S. and the EU have 44% of the global economy. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more from European businesses than the other way around, and has said the European market is not open enough for U.S.-made cars. However, American companies fill some of the trade gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. And some 30% of European imports are from American-owned companies, according to the European Central Bank.
