{"id":402668,"date":"2026-09-17T17:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/402668\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T17:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:04:16","slug":"wyoming-beat-florida-as-the-best-state-for-retirement-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/402668\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming Beat Florida As the Best State for Retirement; Here’s Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Known for its year-round sunshine, recreational activities, and famous retirement villages<\/a>, Florida is often seen as the best choice for retirees.<\/p>\n

However, in a WalletHub study<\/a> published earlier this year, the only state that outranked Florida couldn’t be more different from it.<\/p>\n

Wyoming narrowly took the top spot<\/a>, largely because of its affordability and quality of life \u2014 though limited access to healthcare and harsh winters mean it won’t suit every retiree.<\/p>\n

“Conventional wisdom would tell you, it’s time to retire, you move south to Florida, or west to Arizona, where the weather’s nice, the weather’s warm year-round,” Chip Lupo, an analyst for WalletHub, told Business Insider.<\/p>\n

Yet, particularly after the pandemic, Lupo said there is more of “an urgency when it comes to making the retirement dollar stretch furthest.”<\/p>\n

Wyoming is tax-friendly and has a low cost of living<\/p>\n

WalletHub ranked all 50 states based on affordability, quality of life, and healthcare. Wyoming ranked first for affordability due to metrics such as a low cost of living<\/a> when adjusted for retirees’ needs. <\/p>\n

Wyoming also has the seventh-lowest share of residents over 65 living in poverty, the study cited.<\/p>\n

\"Casper,<\/p>\n

Casper, Wyoming, was ranked the fifth-best American city for retirees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GummyBone\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

With no inheritance, estate, and state income tax, both Florida and Wyoming have among the lowest tax burdens<\/a> on residents of all US states. <\/p>\n

However, Lupo pointed to Florida’s high real estate prices and home insurance costs as further reasons Wyoming beats it for affordability.<\/p>\n

The state has a high quality of life but lacks in healthcare<\/p>\n

A low crime rate and high percentage of neighborly favors also contributed to Wyoming’s retirement score.<\/p>\n

Wyoming ranked 10th for the best elder abuse protections<\/a>, in part due to the state’s relatively high total expenditure on elder abuse prevention and legal assistance.<\/p>\n

However, despite its affordability and quality of life, Wyoming ranked 33rd for healthcare. Its remoteness means residents have to travel farther than in other states to access specialized care, Lupo added.<\/p>\n

\"Snow-covered<\/p>\n

Winter roads in southern Wyoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wirestock\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/p>\n

Casper, Wyoming, was ranked the 5th-best US city<\/a> for retirement in a separate WalletHub study. Its relative lack of activities for seniors, such as recreation centers, as well as lower healthcare performance, meant it finished behind Orlando, Miami, Tampa, and Scottsdale.<\/p>\n

Wyoming is for retirees who want a slower pace of life<\/p>\n

Its harsh winters<\/a> and high altitude also make Wyoming not suitable for all retirees. Nonetheless, for individuals seeking a peaceful place to retire, it’s an option to consider.<\/p>\n

“What a lot of people don’t realize when they retire to Florida is that, in a lot of cases, they’re in the midst of tourist hubs. And a lot of people don’t necessarily want to be surrounded by tourists year-round,” Lupo said.<\/p>\n

“Wyoming’s a little bit quieter, a little calmer,” he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Known for its year-round sunshine, recreational activities, and famous retirement villages, Florida is often seen as the best…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[836,11561,28,30,29,7931,1210,1736,37339,160164,2171,94642,12297,914,12153,221,49433],"class_list":["post-402668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-affordability","tag-chip-lupo","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-healthcare","tag-life","tag-lot","tag-quality","tag-recreational-activity","tag-resident","tag-retiree","tag-retirement","tag-state","tag-wallethub","tag-weather","tag-wyoming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}