Study says New Jersey is one of the worst states to retire in

There are a lot of things to like about living in New Jersey, but overall affordability isn’t one of them. That turns out to be even more true for retirees, if a new study is to be believed.

According to Wallet Hub https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592, New Jersey is one of the absolute worst state for retirees; only Kentucky ranks behind us.

Wallet Hub looked at three broad categories to compare the 50 states:

1. Affordability
2. Quality of Life
3. Healthcare

To determine the scores, they included 47 metrics, accounting for things like different forms of tax friendliness, cost of in-home services, share of the population that’s 65 or older, risk of social isolation, mildness of weather, cultural amenities, crime, availability of doctors, home health aides per capita, and more.

The highest score for affordability is 40 points, and 30 points apiece for quality of life and healthcare.

New Jersey ranked #49 for affordability, #34 for quality of life, and 22nd for health care. If you’re thinking of retiring to a neighboring state, Delaware ranks 5th, Pennsylvania is 14th, and New York is 46th (and dead last in affordability).

I can see New Jersey ranking so low in affordability, but quality of life should be higher; we have the Shore, plenty of museums and theaters, and the 5th lowest property crime rate.

According to Wallet Hub, the five best for retirees are:

1. Virginia
2. Florida
3. Colorado
4. Wyoming
5. Delaware

Strictly for affordability, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Wyoming top the list.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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