Pa. ranks as one of the best states to retire

While many people associate retiring with moving south, that isn’t necessarily the trend anymore.

Florida is still at the top of the list of the best places to retire, but some of the other most beneficial placesfor retirees may surprise you. In fact, Pennsylvania was recently named the 11th best state to retire, according to WalletHub.

The study analyzed 31 “key indicators of retirement-friendliness,” including affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life. Some factors included the adjusted cost of living, the annual cost of in-home services, WalletHub’s taxpayer rating, the percentage of the workforce that is aged 65 and older, most museums per capita, most theaters per capita, percentage of overall population aged 65 and older, life expectancy and property crime rate.

Overall, the commonwealth landed in fourth for quality of life, 20th for affordability rate and 32nd for health care, scoring overall 63.23 out of a possible score of 100. Pennsylvania also landed in the top five for most theaters per capita, as well as tying with Vermont for having the fourth-highest percentage of residents 65 and older, according to WalletHub.

WalletHub noted that many retirees cannot rely on their social security or pension to support their cost of living, so the more affordable a state, the better it is for retirement, making Pennsylvania a top choice.

Florida, scoring 69.22, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa and Colorado were labeled the top five best states for retirees, while Hawaii, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Rhode Island scoring a 43.84, were labeled the worst five states for retirement.