Retirement may be the end of a career, but it’s also the start of a new chapter of adulthood. Most people know when they can or want to retire. Where to retire, however, may be a more complex decision to make.

To rank the best and worst states for people who want to stay active, both physically and socially, in retirement, 24/7 Tempo used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We created an index of more than 20 measures of retirement-friendliness, representing four categories — environment, health-related factors, social support, and demographics.

One of the advantages of retirement is that a person is not limited to living in their current state. Many retirees relocate to experience a different way of life in a new environment. It’s hard to look past sunshine, nice weather year-round, as well as a large number of retirement communities and social events. 

To stay happy as well as healthy in older age, it is important that people eat a healthy diet, avoid unhealthy habits like smoking, and get preventive medical care like vaccinations and disease screenings. It’s important that retirees have a good idea of what their cost of living will be so they can make plans, save, and avoid financial hardship. This is what it costs to retire in every state.

Click here to see the best and worst states for retirees
Click here to read our detailed methodology