The 10 Worst States For Aging Americans

A recently released independent analysis by 24/7 Wall St ranked the best and worst states in which to grow old. The analysis includes "a range of income, health, labor, and environmental indicators."

According to the analysis, here are the 10 states aging citizens should avoid.

10. South Carolina

The analysis mentions South Carolina's high violent crime rate and the fact that more than 10 percent of residents over the age of 65 lived in poverty in 2013 as two reasons the state falls in the bottom 10.

9. Kentucky

Kentucky has one of the highest poverty rates among the elderly in the country at 11.2 percent.

See Also: Beautiful Places To Retire Beyond The Sunshine State

8. Alabama

Alabama had the third-worst life expectancy in the nation in 2011 at 75.4 years. Alabama's poverty rate for residents 65 and older was also 10.6 percent in 2013.

7. New Mexico

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rated New Mexico's service access as one of the worst in the country. Nearly 42 percent of New Mexico residents age 65 and older had some form of disability in 2013.

6. Tennessee

Nearly 12 percent of Tennessee's elderly population did not have adequate access to nutritious food in 2011, the second-highest percentage among all states.
5. Nevada

Nevada had the highest percentage of residents over age 65 without health insurance in 2013.

4. Arkansas

Only 41.5 percent of Arkansas' elderly population had any form of income other than social security in 2011.

3. West Virginia

West Virginia's over-65 population was the least likely to have at a bachelor's degree or higher (14.2 percent) and most likely to have a disability (45.5 percent) of any state in the country.

2. Louisiana

Louisiana had the second-lowest median household income among households with older occupants in 2013, at just $31,230.

1. Mississippi

Mississippi rates dead last in the country in elderly service accessibility, household income and poverty rate, and the state had the second-highest elderly disability rate in 2013.

The analysis rated Utah as the nation's top state in which to grow old. The other nine states in the top 10 can be found here.