Illinois' Ranking on the List of the Best Places to Retire

If you've got an X on a certain date on your calendar marking your retirement, the next question is "Where are you going to spend your retirement?" Sure, many will say Florida, Arizona, or Texas--but what about those who choose to stay here in Illinois?

Personal-finance site WalletHub did what they do best--crunch the numbers--and they've come up with a list of the Best and Worst States to Retire. Here's what they looked at to come up with their rankings:

If retirement is still a big question mark for you because of finances, consider relocating to a state that lets you keep more money in your pocket without requiring a drastic lifestyle change. To help you find that permanent, affordable place to call home, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 41 key indicators of retirement-friendliness. Our analysis examines affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life.

Before we get to Illinois' numbers, here are WalletHub's choices for the top 5 best states to retire:

1) Florida

2) Colorado

3) South Dakota

4) Iowa

5) Virginia

Next, their selections for the 5 worst states to retire:

46) Arkansas

47) Mississippi

48) Rhode Island

49) New Jersey

50) Kentucky

As for our state of Illinois, we come in at #31 overall. Here's the breakdown:

Retiring in Illinois (1=Best; 25=Avg.)
23rd – Adjusted Cost of Living
25th – Annual Cost of In-Home Services
50th – WalletHub ‘Taxpayer’ Ranking
32nd – Elderly-Friendly Labor Market
40th – % of Population Aged 65 & Older
17th – Property-Crime Rate
26th – Life Expectancy
45th – Health-Care Facilities per Capita

Some other numbers from the Midwest: