Don't expect to find palm trees in this year's most affordable state to retire.
West Virginia ranks as the least expensive state to retire in 2023, according to data from Bankrate's "Best and Worst States to Retire" list. The state's light tax burden and low cost of living may make it an attractive option for retirees.
To determine each state's level of affordability, Bankrate reviewed data from a number of sources, including the Council for Community and Economic Research's 2023 cost of living index and the Tax Foundation.
West Virginia is relatively tax-friendly toward retirees, according to SmartAsset. Although the state partially taxes Social Security income and withdrawals from retirement accounts, senior residents are able to claim a deduction on their taxes in order to offset some of those expenses.
In addition to coming in first in affordability, West Virginia ranked as Bankrate's third-best overall state to retire in 2023, thanks to its high scores in the wellbeing, weather and crime categories.
Although Florida has long been considered a popular destination for retirees, the state didn't place among the cheapest states to retire for the second year in a row. The Sunshine State ranked 35th for affordability this year, compared with placing 18th on last year's list.
Although Florida was the No. 1 state people moved to in 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors, that influx of new residents has caused housing prices to soar.
Here are the most and least affordable states to retire in 2023, according to Bankrate.
While affordability can certainly be an important factor when determining where to spend your post-work years, it's important to consider other factors as well, such as distance to family and accessibility to health-care facilities.
It's also important to know how much you'll have saved up in retirement, personal finance expert Shang Saavedra says in Bankrate's report.
Make It's retirement calculator can give you an idea of how much you need to save each month in order to meet your retirement goals, which can help you figure out if you're on track or if you need to reevaluate your spending.
"Determining how much you have available for retirement then leads to all the other decisions for your lifestyle," Saavedra tells Bankrate.
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