What It’s Like to Retire in Rhode Island Compared to Other States

By Sam Stebbins Published Apr 5, 8:00AM EDT

What It’s Like to Retire in Rhode Island Compared to Other States — © RyanJLane / E+ via Getty Images

Deciding where to live in retirement is one of the most important decisions many retirees in the United States need to make. While some may want to stay close to family and friends, others may prioritize affordable housing, a reasonable cost of living, and a low tax rate to maximize retirement income. Safety, access to health care, and climate are also big factors.

Using data from financial services company and personal finance website Bankrate, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the best and worst states to retire. Bankrate analyzed multiple data points and assigned a weight to each category: affordability (40%), well-being (20%), culture and diversity (15%), weather (15%), and crime (10%).

According to the report, Rhode Island ranks as the 17th worst place to retire among the 50 states. The state ranks seventh best in crime, its best performing category. This category takes into account both property and violent crime rates. Rhode Island’s worst performing category is affordability. In this category, which accounts for overall cost of living as well as sales and property tax rates, Rhode Island ranks seventh worst in the country.

Of the 1,057,798 people who reside in Rhode Island, 17.3% are 65 or older, the 14th largest share among states, according to five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.

All data in this story is from Bankrate and the U.S. Census Bureau. A full methodological explanation is available here.

Overall rank	State	Best category	Best category ranking (of 50 states)	Worst Category	Worst category ranking (of 50 states)	Population age 65 and older (%)
1	Florida	Culture and diversity	1	Crime	27	20.5
2	Georgia	Weather	4	Culture and diversity	37	13.9
3	Michigan	Affordability	1	Well-being	39	17.2
4	Ohio	Affordability	11	Culture and diversity	34	17.0
5	Missouri	Affordability	3	Crime	42	16.9
6	Kentucky	Weather	3	Culture and diversity	50	16.4
7	Texas	Affordability	9	Culture and diversity	48	12.5
8	Tennessee	Affordability	2	Crime	45	16.4
9	Pennsylvania	Crime	12	Weather	33	18.3
10	South Dakota	Affordability	15	Weather	41	16.7
11	West Virginia	Weather	8	Well-being	48	19.9
12	Mississippi	Affordability	4	Well-being	50	15.9
13	Arizona	Weather	1	Crime	41	17.6
14	Iowa	Crime	12	Weather	31	17.1
15	North Carolina	Affordability	16	Well-being	38	16.3
16	Illinois	Well-being	13	Culture and diversity	31	15.7
17	Wisconsin	Crime	12	Weather	38	16.9
18	Indiana	Affordability	12	Culture and diversity	43	15.7
19	Oklahoma	Affordability	6	Culture and diversity	46	15.7
20	New York	Well-being	5	Affordability	42	16.5
21	Virginia	Crime	9	Culture and diversity	40	15.4
22	Wyoming	Crime	7	Weather	49	16.4
23	New Hampshire	Crime	1	Weather	45	18.1
24	North Dakota	Well-being	16	Weather	46	15.3
25	South Carolina	Weather	16	Crime	46	17.7
26	New Jersey	Well-being	3	Affordability	46	16.2
27	Nevada	Culture and diversity	11	Crime	40	15.8
28	Colorado	Well-being	7	Weather	44	14.2
29	Arkansas	Affordability	8	Well-being	49	16.9
30	Nebraska	Well-being	19	Weather	37	15.7
31	Utah	Well-being	10	Culture and diversity	47	11.1
32	Massachusetts	Well-being	1	Affordability	47	16.5
33	Idaho	Crime	6	Weather	43	15.8
34	Rhode Island	Crime	7	Affordability	44	17.3
35	Minnesota	Well-being	15	Weather	42	15.8
36	Alabama	Affordability	10	Well-being	46	16.9
37	Kansas	Affordability	20	Culture and diversity	45	15.8
38	Oregon	Culture and diversity	6	Affordability	40	17.6
39	Louisiana	Weather	6	Crime	48	15.4
40	Delaware	Culture and diversity	2	Affordability	39	18.8
41	Washington	Well-being	9	Affordability	38	15.4
42	Hawaii	Well-being	2	Affordability	50	18.4
43	Connecticut	Crime	4	Affordability	48	17.2
44	Maryland	Well-being	4	Affordability	43	15.4
45	Vermont	Culture and diversity	3	Affordability	45	19.4
46	Montana	Culture and diversity	10	Weather	47	18.7
47	New Mexico	Weather	12	Crime	50	17.4
48	California	Well-being	6	Affordability	49	14.3
49	Maine	Crime	2	Weather	50	20.6
50	Alaska	Culture and diversity	26	Crime	49	11.9

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About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at 247WallSt.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.