Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Report: Despite low taxes, Nevada bad for retirees

Add a checkmark in the “worst” column.

Nevada's low taxes are appealing to retirees, but that's offset by negative factors that help make Nevada the worst state in the country for retirees, according to personal finance website Money-Rates.com.

The criteria used in the ranking look at economic factors, climate, crime rate and life expectancy. MoneyRates spokesman Richard Barrington says in the report that Nevada got high rankings for having the second lowest tax rate in the country, but scored poorly elsewhere.

“Gambling enthusiasts may disagree, but high crime rates and a dismal economy make Nevada a bad bet for retirees,” Barrington writes.

The economic factors looked at cost of living, unemployment and the tax burden. The report says Nevada’s unemployment rate is 14.3 percent (it has since climbed to 14.4 statewide and 15 percent in Las Vegas), but had only a 6.6 percent tax burden.

When it comes to climate, the study used 68 degrees as the standard temperature and rated states according to how far their monthly temperatures varied from 68 degrees.

According to the report, Nevada is third in the nation in violent crime and 13th in property crime. And the life expectancy in Nevada is 75.8 years.

The following states, in order, are MoneyRates’ worst for retirees: Nevada, Michigan, Alaska, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri and Arkansas.

On the other end of the spectrum, MoneyRates ranked New Hampshire as the best state to retire in, followed by Hawaii, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Virginia, Utah, Connecticut, Vermont and Idaho.

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