New Jersey Is Second-Worst State To Retire In, Study Says

A new study said New Jersey is the second-worst state to retire in 2024, pointing to the Garden State's high costs for taxpayers and lack of healthcare facilities.

WalletHub released a study about the best and worst states to retire on Monday, Jan. 22. New Jersey ranked 49th on the list, finishing only ahead of Kentucky.

The study said New Jersey is second worst in affordability for retirees. WalletHub's affordability rank includes metrics like adjusted cost of living, which New Jersey was 37th. It also factors in the number of people 65 or older who couldn't afford a doctor visit and "taxpayer-friendliness."

While New Jersey came in 20th in the healthcare ranking, WalletHub said the state may need more medical facilities. The Garden State ranked 45th in healthcare facilities per capita.

New Jersey was also in the bottom half of the country for overall quality of life, ranking 35th. The quality of life rank includes metrics like share of the population 65 or older, mildness of weather, risk of social isolation, and elderly food insecurity rate.

The Garden State ranked poorly on some other WalletHub metrics. The state was 34th in elderly-friendly labor markets and 31st in annual cost of in-home services.

A couple neighboring states fared well in WalletHub's rankings. Delaware was named the fourth-best state to retire and Pennsylvania came in tenth. New York was ranked as the seventh-worst state for retirees.

Delaware was praised for lower costs, coming in third in the study's affordability rank. Pennsylvania was considered second-best in quality of life and eighth in healthcare.

A separate WalletHub survey released on Monday, Jan. 22 said more than half (53%) of all Americans feel anxious, scared, or pessimistic about retirement. Nearly half (46%) of Americans said they're not confident they'll have enough money to retire.

The survey also said 39% of Americans expect to work until they die. More than three out of five (63%) said they think paying off debt is more important than making retirement contributions.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed did say they have a retirement plan.

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