Not Just Florida: Colorado Ranks Among The Best States To Retire In

Whether you live in Colorado or are just passing through, I'd say there's a pretty general consensus around the fact that people love it here.

The outdoor activities, the culture, the fact that it's a beer lovers paradise, its natural beauty - the list truly goes on about why people love Colorado.

So much so, there might not be a reason why you ever have to leave - especially after hearing this news.

A new study conducted by researchers at personal finance website, WalletHub, finds that Colorado is one of the best states to retire in all of the U.S; not only is it one of the best - the state was ranked among the top three states to retire in the country for 2022.

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What Was The Study Based On?

Researchers with Wallethub sought to identify the best states to retire by basing their findings on the following key factors:

• Affordability
• Quality of Life
• Health Care

These three factors were then broken down into 40+ subcategories - or metrics - and evaluated for each state. Some metrics taken into consideration when ranking each state for this study include:

• Affordability 
  • Annual Cost of Adult Day Health Care
  • Adjusted Cost of Living
  • General Tax-Friendliness
• Quality of Life
  • Risk of Social Isolation
  • Share of Population Aged 65 and Older in Poverty
  • Elderly-Friendly Labor Market
• Health Care
  • Percentage of Residents 12+ Who Are Fully Vaccinated
  • Nurses per Capita/Home Health Aides per Capita
  • Quality of Public Hospitals

To view the full list of metrics and their corresponding weight towards each state's ranking, click here. 

According to WalletHub, each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for retirement.

How Great Of A State Is Colorado For Those Looking To Retire?

As per the study, the great state of Colorado comes in as one of the top 5 states in the country for those looking to retire - ranked at No .3.

In 2022, there are only two states that are considered to be more retirement-friendly than Colorado - Virginia (ranked at No. 2) and Florida, the most retirement-friendly state in the entire country (and honestly, I'm not too shocked by this.)

Overall, the study shows that, while Colorado received competitive scores for metrics concerning both Affordability and Quality of Life, the state's overall Health Care score received a much lower score than the country's number one state for retirees - Florida - which received a score more than five times greater than Colorado's.

To view WalletHub's full study, 2022's Best States To Retire, click here.