Bizarre Lists for Best and Worst States for Retirement: Who Are These Companies?
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 21, 2019 — There seems to be a never ending supply of articles touting the best and worst states to retire in. People obviously enjoy reading them. The trouble is that many of the websites publishing them have no expertise in retirement, and a result the lists they come up often have no connection to where people actually want to retire.
A good example is the recent list from Bankrate.com, which must have been overjoyed to see their picks reprinted in the New York Times and many other big media outlets. For the record, Bankrate.com is a website that promotes credit cards and loans, very similar to what wallethub.com does (but which generally produces more credible lists). Other frequent list generators are GOBankingRates.com and Smartasset.com, the latter of which is a site promoting financial advisors. Search on Google for “best places to retire” and sites like these will have prominent rankings, because it is good for their financial businesses. See the top listing in this screen capture, Homesnacks.net – anyone see their connection to retirement? (see more list companies at end)
Here is the list of Best States to retire from Bankrate.com:
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Missouri
- South Dakota
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Kansas
- North Carolina
- Montana
- Hawaii
Comments on "Bizarre Lists for Best and Worst States for Retirement: Who Are These Companies?"
JCarol says:
I see bankrate.com and I think clickbait. Most lists of best, worst, ten best, ten worst, etc., are clickbait, too.
Bob says:
I haven't found ANY place that is the best place to retire. By that I mean most places are not good year round. If good in winter than too hot in summer. Good in summer too cold or too much snow in winter. Places with nice ( to me ) spring like temps year round, like the central highlands of Panama or Costa Rica are great for 4 months in winter, than have an 8 months rainy season. That's why rich people have homes in several places. Can't keep renting and furnishing apartments every 4 to 6 months. So for me it's an RV.
Jeff Z says:
Lets not forget hurricanes and other extreme weather events, all of which are rising in frequency along with the earth temperature due to Climate Change.
Dave Hughes says:
Excellent article - you make some excellent points about how the companies and people who write for them often have no retirement expertise. It's all about the choice of criteria and the weighting - which rarely align with what's important to us. I think some lists were just thrown together quickly by a content marketing writer who was up against a deadline.
I am finishing up a book on how to choose the best place to retire FOR YOU. I've seen many, many of these lists. The more lists you see, the more conflicting and confusing information you get. To me, the only real value of these lists is that they could suggest someplace you hadn't thought of that might be a good choice. That happens more often with Best Cities lists than Best States lists. You're correct that most states are too diverse to be painted with broad brush. Taxes are about the only thing that is consistent across a state.
I love this website! Thanks for all of your hard work.
Dave Hughes
RetireFabulously.com
Clyde says:
People seem to love lists and rankings. I know that I will almost always open a link to a “Best (or worst) Retirement” list. Even if they are often conflicting, there’s usually some sort of helpful, or at least interesting, information to be found. I think I’ve seen Nebraska as both the best and worst on some lists! If we are lucky enough to be somewhat financially secure in our retirement, then we want to be able to make a choice as to where to live it. For the vast majority of people, the decision is to stay where they are. But for those who contemplate moving, it’s nice to have helpful websites like topretirements.com to turn to for excellent articles and input from readers. Another thank you to the administrators of the website!
Admin says:
Seriously: Iowa, Kentucky, South Dakota, and Kansas in the top 10 states for retirement? They might b great places to live in the summer - but have you ever been there in the winter. No ocean, no mountains, very few cities. Makes you wonder how anyone could put these on a list. Similarly for worst places: South Carolina, Oregon and Nevada - some of the most popular places to retire?