By Mary Stroka | The Center Square
While some folks my opt for warmer climates for retirement, there are plenty of good reasons to consider the Granite State, according to a new report.
WalletHub ranked New Hampshire the 10th best state to retire in and assigned it an overall score of 56.29 across dimensions of affordability, quality of life and health care in a recent analysis.
The state has the second-lowest violent crime rate (1.53), second-lowest property crime rate (12.09), the best air quality (4.10), the fourth-highest family medicine physicians per capita (59.34), and the second-highest well-being index (65.20) among its 55-year-old and older population, according to the report.
New Hampshire, the 10th best state to retire in, is behind Florida, Colorado, Delaware, Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Minnesota in this year’s rankings.
The state’s population of people 65 and older who are in “good or better health” is the highest in the nation, and the prevalence of poor mental health among the group is the fifth-lowest in the nation. Older adults who reported “poor mental health” said their mental health “was not good” 14 or more days in the past 30 days.
“In New Hampshire, quality of life and health care prevail,” WalletHub analyst and communications director Jill Gonzalez told The Center Square via email. “Therefore, it’s a better state both for retirees who are in poor health and require more care, as well as for those who are in good health, and are looking to keep busy and entertained during retirement.”
Challenges remain for the state’s retirees though. It fell among the 20 lowest-ranking states for home health aides per capita (34th, 612.70), retired taxpayer friendliness (31st, 0.25), access to public transportation (37th, 0.86%) access to adult volunteer activities (36th, 0.031867) and health care facilities per capita (33rd).
Its annual cost of in-home services (43rd lowest, $65,208), adjusted cost of living (36th lowest, 109.22) and adult day health care (31st lowest, $22,100) were higher than that of most states. Retired taxpayer-friendliness was a measurement of taxation on retirement income, property and purchases, and special tax breaks for seniors while public transportation access was based on the share of commuters who use public transportation and the adult volunteer activities measure was a calculation of the number of rated charity organizations per capita.
“New Hampshire is already among the top ten states for retirees,” Gonzalez said. “However, the state’s elderly population could benefit from lower costs for in-home services, which could be enabled by local authorities through special programs.”
New Hampshire fell behind Florida, Colorado, Delaware, Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Minnesota in this year’s rankings. New Jersey was the worst state to retire in, according to the analysis.
New Hampshire cities Nashua and Manchester ranked 77th and 150th in WalletHub’s September 2020 analysis of 182 best and worst places to retire, based on affordability, activities, quality of life and health care.
