Iowa is best state to retire in

Recently, Bankrate rated Iowa the No. 1 state for retirement after consideration of affordability, overall well-being, cost of quality healthcare, weather and crime.

Bankrate stated that affordability was weighted most heavily and given the massive tax cuts the Legislature has passed recently – it is no surprise that Iowa scored well.

The other states in the Top 5 after Iowa were Delaware, West Virginia, Missouri and Mississippi. The worst? Alaska. It was No. 50 largely because of weather and affordability. The others in the bottom five were just as equally not surprising – New York, California, Washington and Massachusetts.

Iowa got big praise for being a cheap place to live with an average median home price of less than $240,000. This is well below the national average of $388,800. Bankrate also noted that Iowa does not tax retirement income or Social Security, and has good quality health care. The report noted that Iowa rates in the middle of the pack tax-wise, but that ranking is expected to improve in a big way once the 3.9 percent flat tax hits in tax year 2026.

Rep. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, serves parts of Clay and Buena Vista counties in Iowa House District 6.