Here’s why Illinois was recently ranked one of the worst states in US for retirement

Meredith Howard
·3 min read
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Illinois is known for its Lincoln heritage, leading soybean and corn production and being the home of Chicago, among many other things, but it may not be the best place for retirees to settle, according to a recent analysis.

Finance site WalletHub put Illinois in the 44th spot in its Jan. 23 article 2023’s Best States to Retire due to affordability and taxation rates. Illinois came in behind all other states besides Kentucky, New Jersey, Mississippi, Oklahoma, New York and Louisiana.

The Land of Lincoln received an overall score of 44.30 out of 100 for its friendliness to retirees, landing in 42nd place for affordability, 22nd place for quality of life and 27th place for health care options.

Neighboring Missouri ranked 13th in the U.S., with an overall score of 52.37. The Show Me state received a 17th place ranking for affordability, 28th for quality of life and 32nd for health care.

Average price of a Starbucks latte helps IL rank as one of the best states for millennials

Missouri nabbed a first place spot in two categories, tax-friendliness on estate or inheritance tax and family medicine physicians per capita.

Here’s how the rest of the country performed:

Source: WalletHub

Illinois came in last place in WalletHub’s taxpayer ranking, which considered general tax rates, taxation on retirement income, property and purchases, tax breaks for seniors, and estate and inheritance taxes.

The state pulled ahead in the theaters per capita category, landing in 4th place in the U.S.

Rankings by category

Here’s how Illinois stacked up in more of WalletHub’s categories:

  • Adjusted cost of living: 18th place

  • General tax-friendliness: 50th place

  • Retired taxpayer-friendliness: 41st place

  • Tax-friendliness on estate or inheritance tax: 34th place

  • Annual cost of in-home services: $64,064, 25th place

  • Annual cost of adult day health care: $22,620, 33rd place

  • Share of population 65 or older who could not afford a doctor’s visit: 3.2%, 29th place

  • Share of population 65 or older: 15.7%, 36th place

  • Risk of social isolation: 39th place

  • Elderly friendly labor market: 32nd place

  • Share of population 65 or older in poverty: 8.8%, 28th place

  • Elderly food insecurity rate: 12.9%, 27th place

  • Access to public transportation: 4th place

  • Quality of elder abuse protections: 19th place

  • Percentage of residents 12 years and older who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 78.4%, 19th place

  • Family medicine physicians per capita: 36th place

  • Home health aides per capita: 24th place

Here’s how Missouri compared:

  • Adjusted cost of living: 11th place

  • General tax-friendliness: 27th place

  • Retired taxpayer-friendliness: 20th place

  • Tax-friendliness on estate or inheritance tax: 1st place

  • Annual cost of in-home services: $57,200, 13th place

  • Annual cost of adult day health care: $22,880, 34th place

  • Share of population 65 or older who could not afford a doctor’s visit: 2.2%, 7th place

  • Share of population 65 or older: 16.9%, 19th place

  • Risk of social isolation: 32nd place

  • Elderly friendly labor market: 25th place

  • Share of population 65 or older in poverty: 8.6%, 26th place

  • Elderly food insecurity rate: 12.9%, 27th place

  • Access to public transportation: 28th place

  • Quality of elder abuse protections: 15th place

  • Percentage of residents 12 years or older who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 66.3%, 40th place

  • Family medicine physicians per capita: 1st place

  • Home health aides per capita: 9th place

Illinois retirees may be owed up to $300 in tax rebates, but they may have to file for it