Newly retired Americans who are thinking about moving in 2021 may want to check state reviews recently posted on financial information website WalletHub. Based on WalletHub’s Best States to Retire list for 2021, New Jersey is the least attractive to those who are looking to enjoy their golden years. The same analysis puts Florida at the top of the list, and the Sunshine State is closely followed by Colorado, Delaware, and Virginia.
How much confidence can be given to WalletHub’s rankings? When you look at the information compiled by the analysts who produced the content, you can see that the data points are highly relevant. The cost of living in New Jersey has been on the rise over the last few years, and the state’s public health resources have proven inadequate to handle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also the matter of laws and services conducive to protecting the elderly, which in the Garden State are not as comprehensive as in other states.
When WalletHub began publishing personal finance content in 2013, its focus was mostly on reviews of financial planners and investment advisors. Over time, the website added information about financial institutions; you can check out this WalletHub profile to get an idea about the kind of data you can get on banks and credit unions. In recent years, WalletHub has shifted its focus towards more news-friendly content featuring microeconomics analysis, and this includes the popular annual ranking of American places according to lifestyle.
Given the right data sets, there is a lot of information you can determine from specific regions and their residents. WalletHub resolved to make its annual ranking lists more interesting for 2021, and this included analyzing statewide crime data along with economic activity based on the seven capital sins. To this effect, the 2021 ranking of these states puts Nevada at the top of the list, and this is no surprise because the Silver State is where Las Vegas, also known as Sin City, is located. The legalized gambling and brothels in various Nevada counties covers the greed and lust capital sins, and we can easily add excesses to the list because statewide sales of alcoholic beverages are prodigious.
It should be noted that the bulk of the sinning that takes place in Nevada is actually perpetrated by visitors from out of state, and many of them come from neighboring California, which happens to take second place on the ranking of sinful states.
Even though the Golden State is up there on the list of states that could improve in terms of moral standing, it is interesting to note that four of its metropolitan areas scored high on WalletHub’s list of the healthiest regions. In order to compile this ranking, data analysts looked at vital statistics to determine longevity as well as premature deaths. This information was coupled with other factors such as availability of healthcare, nutrition, parks, and fitness facilities; the results indicate that cities such as San Jose, Anaheim, and Santa Ana offer higher quality of life through healthier lifestyle options.
