in our free newsletter.

Thousands benefit from our email every week.

We count down the 16 states that are the worst of the worst for retirement. We added each state's retirement ranking from Bankrate, WalletHub, and Kiplinger to create scores out of a possible 150. The higher the score, the worse the state is for retirees.

And if you want to take it further, we've also compiled the worst cities to retire in.

15. (tie) Alaska

Katmai National Park, Alaska
melissamn / Shutterstock
It's cold out here in Katmai National Park, Alaska

Score: 99

With no state sales or income tax and beautiful glacier views, Alaska packs plenty of retirement appeal — but the long, dark winter days and ravenous summer mosquitoes take some getting used to.

Bankrate ranks Alaska in last place for weather and No. 49 for crime. The state's violent crime rate jumped 34% and the rate of property crime grew 22% from 2013 to 2017, Alaska's Department of Public Safety reported.

Also, you'll pay more for most items if you retire to Alaska, because they'll need to be transported up north. Locals have this advice for surving in Alaska: Buy the cheap, fresh Alaskan fish — and get some long johns. You’ll need ‘em. Along with a lot of money in the bank.

Page 1 / 52

Subscribing to Moneywise Has Its Rewards

Hello! You’ve found us by way of our phenomenal lifestyle content, but did you know Moneywise is best known for producing thoroughly researched personal finance content, written by the smartest personal finance writers in the industry?

If you subscribe to Moneywise—for free—you’ll get unlimited, ad-free* access to all of our content (including this article) and you’ll receive a twice-weekly personal finance newsletter that makes you smarter about your money.

Return to article

*Subscribers must be logged in for display advertising to be disabled. Ad-free refers only to display advertising. Content on Moneywise often contains affiliate offers. It would be impractical to remove these from content for subscribers. Furthermore, Moneywise believes linked products and services add sincere value to the content. With that being said, please be aware articles may still contain affiliate offers. These offers will be clearly marked in line with our advertising guidelines.