Do you know what is the worst tax state for retirees? What state is the best state to do business in? Here is a roundup of the miscellaneous, fascinating rankings offered by leading magazines and websites.
What are the best (and worst) states for business? Well, CNBC has ranked all 50 states based on 43 criteria including quality of work force, cost of doing business, quality of life, state economies and access to capital. Coming in at No. 1: Virginia. Number two is Texas, number three is North Carolina. The state with the lowest cost of doing business – Iowa – ranked 9th.
The bottom three? Hawaii (48th), Alaska (49th) and … Rhode Island? Yes, it was dead last. CNBC cited its 10.9 percent jobless rate and a corporate tax rate nearly as high.
What are the best (and worst) tax states for retirees? Kiplinger sees four “tax hells” in the Northeast. Vermont is ranked No. 1 (high property taxes along with state levies of up to 8.95 percent) and Maine, Connecticut and New Jersey also make the bottom 10. Minnesota is No. 2, Nebraska No. 3, Oregon No. 4 and California No. 5.
As to the best, Wyoming ranks No. 1 among the “tax heavens”, followed by Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Alabama. Wyoming has no estate tax, no state income tax, and only a 4 percent sales tax; the state collects abundant revenues from oil and mineral firms.
What cities may be especially attractive for a retiring baby boomer? Fortune offers four “great places”, citing ideals among four types of retirement destinations. It ranks Athens, Ga. as the best college town, Seattle, Wash. as the best big city, St. George, Utah as the best town for outdoors lovers and San Rafael, Argentina as an ideal foreign city for retirement.
Where could I live well and prosper in my career or business? Kiplinger has ranked its Best Value Cities – metro areas featuring “vibrant economies, a low cost of living, and plenty of lifestyle amenities.”
The No. 1 place to be is Omaha. Then we have Charlotte at No. 2, Nashville at No. 3, and respectively 4th-10th we have Colorado Springs, Knoxville, Lexington, Little Rock, Wichita, Cedar Rapids and Cincinnati.
It also identifies the metro areas with the largest household income growth between 2005-09: Midland, Texas (+31.3 percent), Grand Junction, Colo. (+24.8 percent) and Jacksonville, N.C. (+21.8 percent) came in 1-2-3, while the three biggest household income declines were in St. George, Utah (-11.2 percent), Muskegon-Norton Shores, Mich. (-11.4 percent) and Albany, Ga. (-11.9 percent).
Brad Ledwith is a certified financial planner and runs his own wealth management firm in Morgan Hill. He is a registered representative with and offers securities through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. CA Lic. OC69547. If you have financial questions you would like to have answered in this column in the future, email
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