Working Americans look forward to retirement for its relaxed lifestyle, but many on fixed incomes may not have enough savings to live comfortably after they leave work. Indeed, only 35% of workers think that their retirement savings are on track, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Where Americans decide to live out their post-work years will strongly influence how far their money will stretch, according to a recent study from WalletHub, the personal finance website.

The best states for retirees, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said, have low taxes and low cost of living. They also provide retirees access to excellent medical care and homemaking services, especially for those who will not live close to their families.

To identify the most retirement-friendly states and the worst ones, WalletHub compared the 50 states across these key dimensions:

  • Affordability, including adjusted cost of living, general tax friendliness and share of population 65 and older who couldn't afford a doctor visit
  • Quality of life, including share of population 65 and older in poverty, elderly food insecurity rate, mildness of weather, access to public transportation, and violent and property crime rates
  • Health care, including geriatrician shortfall, home health aides per capita, share of population 65 and older with poor mental health, share of 65 and older population who are obese and life expectancy

Researchers evaluated those dimensions using 46 relevant metrics and graded each one on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for retirement.

About half the states at the bottom of the ranking scored poorly for affordability but had much better scores for quality of life and health care. In contrast, several states that scored well for affordability had bottom-scraping results in the other two metrics.

See the accompanying gallery for the 12 worst states for retirement, according to WalletHub.

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