New Jersey Ranks 23rd in New Bankrate Retirement Study

Is it Really Possible To Retire in New Jersey?

Saving for retirement can feel overwhelming.

You try to save as much money as possible, but no matter how much you put away, it often feels like it's never enough.

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After working for years and years, you want to be able to relax and truly enjoy your next chapter of life.

But property taxes being so high, and the overall cost of living in New Jersey being higher than in many other states, you may be asking yourself - Is it realistic to retire and stay in the Garden State?

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A recent Bankrate study ranked the best and worst states to retire in for 2025.

New Hampshire came out on top, scoring high in categories including neighborhood safety (1st), health care (5th), taxes (6th), and people of similar age (7th).

How did New Jersey rank?

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The Best States to Retire

1. New Hampshire

2. Maine

3. Wyoming

4. Vermont

5. Idaho

The Worst States to Retire

50. Louisiana

49. Texas

48. Oklahoma

47. Arkansas

46. Nebraska

So where does New Jersey fall?

Surprisingly, New Jersey ranked 23rd!

Although we came in 2nd-to-last in local taxes. No surprise there!

New Jersey ranked 10th in safety, 23rd in affordability and arts, 28th in weather, 31st in healthcare, and 29th with people of similar age.

If you're at the age where you're considering retirement and wondering whether to stay or relocate, it's interesting to see where New Jersey ranks compared to other parts of the country.

Another key factor is where your kids and grandkids live, with many retirees considering moving to be closer to family.

You can read the full survey here.

LOOK: This is what you now need to retire comfortably in every U.S. State

Go Banking Rates analyzed 2025 financial data to determine how much is necessary to retire across the nation, factoring in groceries, housing, transportation, healthcare costs, and more. Plus, what an additional $1 million in savings would look like, along with a financial comparison to New Jersey. States are listed from least savings to most.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant

LOOK: These are the top 20 best places to retire in America

U.S. News analyzed housing affordability and healthcare data in 150 cities across the country to help determine which were considered most suitable to meet Americans' needs and expectations for retirement in 2024. Scores are based on a scale from 1 (Low) to 10 (High).

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant

The 10 best and 10 worst states to retire

For their 2024 report, Bankrate.com analyzed factors such as cost of living, health care and crime to rank the 50 states as places where you might want to consider retirement. Visit this link for the complete report.

Gallery Credit: Bankrate/New Jersey 101.5