SEATTLE - When people in the United States talk about moving somewhere else in the country to enjoy their retiree years, most people think of a sunny place with access to gorgeous beaches or a quiet place in the countryside. And based on Bankrate's annual ranking, one of the nation's smallest states is actually the one that comes out as the best buck for buck.
The state of Delaware topped this year's Bankrate's annual ranking after ranking in second place last year. Known as "The First State," Delaware scored high across five key metrics taken into account by the financial publisher: affordability, overall well-being, access to health care, weather and crime.
"While you might not think of Delaware as a typical retirement haven, it has many strong selling points for retirees," Bankrate analyst Alex Gailey told CBS MoneyWatch.
The metric that holds the utmost importance for retirees in Bankrate's annual report is affordability, which accounts for 40% of each state's overall score. Well-being comes in at second place in terms of importance, accounting for 25% of the overall score, while access to high-quality health care (20%), weather (10%) and crime (5%) complete the list.
"Delaware moved from No. 2 to No. 1 because of the affordability metric. It carries the heaviest weight to reflect what's been happening in the economy, with the cost of living rising as much as it has," Gailey said.
Although Delaware's cost of living is higher than the national average, "The First State" scored well on other affordability metrics as it .
Another thing that Delaware can offer to retirees is its low property tax relative to the rest of the country, averaging roughly $1,939 annually, according to ATTOM data.
Despite being the second smallest state in terms of land just behind Rhode Island, Delaware offers residents a great selection of arts and entertainment establishments per 100,000 inhabitants and it houses a high share of residents who are 62 and older.
Weather was also taken into account. Earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes tend to avoid Delaware and its temperate climate also helped the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States score high in that regard.
In Bankrate's overall ranking, the best and worst states for retirees were split geographically. The Midwest and Southern parts of the U.S. took the top five spots while states in the Northeast and West ranked as the worst to retire. Experts and researchers attribute the geographic split primarily to differences in the cost of living, which explains why places such as New York (49th) and California (47th) ranked so low.
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