Contradicting Florida’s reputation as a desirable place for seniors to live, a new study finds the Sunshine State is the worst state in America to age in place.
Perhaps equally surprising, New Jersey is the no. 3 best state, according to the study by Christine Healy, Chief Growth Officer at Seniorly, a senior living technology company.
Utah is ranked first as a desirable place for aging in place, in part because of the weather, Healy writes — it rains very little.
However, the study reminds us that no state is perfect, and states with good and bad scores have bad and good points. For example, in No. 2 North Dakota, 46.4% of seniors live alone – one the highest rates in the country (No. 50). And low-ranked Mississippi (no. 46) is third-best for quality of home health agencies, with one third earning a 4.5 or 5-star CMS rating. In California, which is ranked no. 7, seniors face long wait times at emergency departments, 184 minutes on average, or 42nd nationwide.
The study calls three strikes against lowest-rated Florida as a place for seniors to live:
- 56 seniors per home health aide (No. 50)
- Just 1,470 meals delivered per 100,000 older adults through the Older Americans Act (No. 46)
- 7% of seniors spend 30% of their income on housing (No. 45)
However, Florida had some good marks. The study reports that 39.5% of older adults live alone, ranking Florida 8th nationally, and 20.6% of home health agencies earned a 4.5 or 5-star rating from CMS, placing Florida 13th.
Explaining New Jersey’s third-best rating, the study reports that in the Garden State:
- The biggest cities have an average walk score of 59 (No. 2)
- 6% of home health agencies have a 4.5- or 5-star CMS rating (No. 4)
- 1% of people use smart home technology to interact with household equipment via the internet (No. 6).
The study notes that a record 4.2 million Americans are turning 65 in 2025, and almost three-quarters would prefer to remain in their homes as opposed to a senior living facility.
“Aging in place offers the comfort of home and is becoming even more appealing as healthcare technology and telehealth services continue to advance,” Healy writes. “However, it also presents significant risks, including delayed medical response during emergencies and increased susceptibility to loneliness and isolation.”
Despite New Jersey’s no. 3 ranking, Seniorly says the 10 best states are largely in the West:
- Utah
- North Dakota
- New Jersey
- Idaho
- Texas
- Nebraska
- California
- New Mexico
- Kansas
- Washington
In no. 1 Utah, seniors have the third lowest risk of social isolation, with only 35.7% living alone. The state leads the nation in smart technology use, with 37% of residents interacting with household equipment via the internet. An added bonus, according to Seniorly: Utah enjoys minimal precipitation, averaging just 10.1 inches of rain and snowfall per year (no. 3).
Joining Florida in the five lowest-ranked states are Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Kentucky has one of the highest rates of fatal car crashes involving older adults, with 28.2 deaths per 100,000 drivers. And seniors in North Carolina, endure 195 minutes in the emergency departments on average, one of the longer wait times.
Seniorly analyzed data from the CDC, CMS, Census Bureau and HUD, weighing 10 factors, including the availability of home health aides, emergency room wait times, weather and driving safety, housing costs, meal delivery services and smart home adoption.
You can view the full national rankings and methodology here.