Vermont, Utah, and Minnesota have the strongest overlap in recent measures focused on older adults and Medicare beneficiaries. New Hampshire, Colorado, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Alaska also merit consideration, but for different reasons. This is a cross-source shortlist—not a single authoritative ranking of the best states to retire in the U.S. with good healthcare. The right choice depends on the care available in the specific community and whether local Medicare plans cover your doctors and prescriptions.
How to read this list
The states below are drawn from three different kinds of comparison: an older-adult health report, a Medicare beneficiary scorecard, and broader health-system or retirement analyses. Their rankings measure different things and should not be combined into a precise overall score. A high state-level result can help narrow a search, but it cannot tell you whether a particular doctor is nearby or accepts your plan.
- America’s Health Rankings’ 2026 Senior Report ranks states across 36 measures in five categories: social and economic factors, physical environment, behaviors, clinical care, and health outcomes. It focuses on older adults, but its overall ranking is not simply a count of doctors or hospitals.
- The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Medicare scorecard groups 31 measures into access, quality, costs and affordability, and population health. It primarily draws on 2023–2025 data, so it describes measured state differences rather than predicting an individual’s future care.
- The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 state health-system scorecard assesses the broader population, not retirees alone. Its leaders include Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.
- WalletHub’s 2026 retirement comparison uses 46 indicators across financial and lifestyle dimensions and also reports a separate healthcare category. That healthcare category is a proprietary composite, not a Medicare-specific measure.
10 states to retire in the U.S. with good healthcare
1. Vermont
Vermont ranked No. 1 in America’s Health Rankings’ 2026 Senior Report and was one of the top states in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Medicare scorecard. The Senior Report notes a low prevalence of older adults avoiding care because of cost. Its overall result includes social and economic factors, environment, behaviors, clinical care, and outcomes: Vermont ranked No. 14 in clinical care and No. 13 in health outcomes, so its first-place composite does not mean it leads every medical-care measure. The report also identifies housing cost burden and low hospice-care use as challenges. See the Senior Report and Vermont’s state summary.
2. Utah
Utah ranked No. 2 in the 2026 Senior Report and was also among the leaders in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Medicare scorecard. The agreement between an older-adult-focused report and a Medicare beneficiary comparison makes Utah one of the clearer candidates on this list. These statewide results still do not establish access or plan fit in a particular county. Read the Senior Report and the Medicare scorecard.
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#1 Best Overall
3. Minnesota
Minnesota ranked No. 4 in the 2026 Senior Report, was among the leading states in the 2025 Medicare scorecard, and ranked No. 1 in WalletHub’s 2026 healthcare category. Those results span older-adult health, Medicare experience, and a broader healthcare composite within a retirement comparison. They make Minnesota a strong place to investigate, not a guarantee that your preferred providers or medications will be covered. See the Senior Report, the Medicare scorecard, and WalletHub’s comparison.
4. New Hampshire
New Hampshire ranked No. 3 in the 2026 Senior Report and placed among the top five in the Commonwealth Fund’s broader 2025 state health-system scorecard. The two results offer evidence from an older-adult report and a population-wide assessment, but neither substitutes for checking the hospitals, specialists, and Medicare options available where you plan to live. See the Senior Report and the state scorecard.
Rank #2
5. Colorado
Colorado ranked No. 5 in the 2026 Senior Report and No. 3 in WalletHub’s 2026 healthcare category. The first result reflects a broad set of older-adult measures; the second is part of a proprietary retirement comparison. Use them as a reason to compare local care and plan choices, rather than as proof that care is equally accessible across the state. See the Senior Report and WalletHub’s comparison.
6. Massachusetts
Massachusetts ranked No. 2 in WalletHub’s 2026 healthcare category and among the top five in the Commonwealth Fund’s broader 2025 state health-system scorecard. The Commonwealth Fund also notes weaker results for adults age 65 and older on several measures, including preventable hospitalizations and readmissions. A strong system-wide rank therefore does not mean every older-adult measure is strong. See WalletHub’s comparison and the state scorecard.
Rank #3
7. Hawaii
Hawaii placed among the top five in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 state health-system scorecard. That is a broader population-wide result, not an older-adult-specific ranking or a measure of access in every island community. Check the relevant local provider options and Medicare plan networks before deciding whether a particular destination fits your needs. Read the state scorecard.
8. Rhode Island
Rhode Island also placed among the top five in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 broader health-system scorecard. It earns a place on this shortlist through that statewide measure; the result alone does not establish how convenient care will be in a particular town or which providers will accept your coverage. Read the state scorecard.
9. South Dakota
South Dakota ranked No. 4 in WalletHub’s 2026 healthcare category. The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Medicare scorecard also found that fewer than 10% of South Dakota Medicare Advantage plans required prior authorization for specialist physician or preventive care in the measure it reports. That figure concerns plans and the specified services—not every treatment or coverage rule. Traditional Medicare generally does not require prior authorization for covered services, according to the same scorecard. See WalletHub’s comparison and the Medicare scorecard.
10. Alaska
Alaska ranked No. 5 in WalletHub’s 2026 healthcare category. That state-level result does not answer how close a particular community is to a hospital or specialist. If you are considering Alaska, check travel distance, local services, and practical access to the care you use before choosing a destination. See WalletHub’s comparison.
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How much does healthcare vary between states for Medicare beneficiaries?
The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Medicare scorecard found that 3.8% of adults age 65 and older reported going without medical care because of cost. The state rates ranged from 1.6% in Vermont to 6.0% in Louisiana. It also found that avoidable hospital admissions ranged from about 14 per 1,000 beneficiaries in Idaho to nearly 35 per 1,000 in West Virginia. These differences show why a state’s healthcare environment matters, but state averages do not predict one person’s experience. The scorecard explains its measures and state results.
Plan rules also differ. In the scorecard’s measure of Medicare Advantage plans, fewer than 10% of South Dakota plans required prior authorization for specialist physicians or preventive care, compared with more than 70% in Washington. This comparison is limited to the services named in the measure. Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability and terms vary by county and state; a statewide statistic cannot tell you whether your doctors or prescriptions are included.
What to check before choosing a state or town
- Map care in the community, not just the state. Look for a usual source of care and check whether primary care, specialists, hospitals, and pharmacies are accessible from the specific town or county you are considering.
- Compare Medicare options for your destination county. Identify the Medicare Advantage and Part D plans offered for the county and move date. Check your doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions against each plan, then compare premiums, cost sharing, formularies, networks, and prior authorization rules.
- Look beyond provider counts. Consider preventive care, avoidable hospital use, post-acute and long-term care quality, and how follow-up care is arranged. The Medicare scorecard evaluates access, quality, costs and affordability, and population health, illustrating why healthcare fit involves more than one measure.
- Calculate affordability alongside access. Consider your likely out-of-pocket exposure and whether you can obtain needed care without undue cost. A favorable statewide average does not establish what you will pay under a specific plan.
- Weigh healthcare against the rest of retirement. Housing and other costs, family proximity, climate, and lifestyle may matter more to your decision than a small difference in a statewide health ranking. Vermont’s older-adult report, for example, flags housing cost burden even as the state ranks first overall.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said that access to medical care and homemaking services matters particularly for people who do not plan to retire close to family. WalletHub’s January 26, 2026 comparison includes the statement in its retirement context.
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