() Chicago narrowly avoided placing in the bottom 15th percentile in a new report that ranks 182 cities across the country using certain metrics to determine which cities are the best to retire.
Illinois placed just two cities on the list, which used specific metrics, including affordability, health care, and others, to determine which states are considered the most retirement friendly.
“The Illinois cities on this list did not rank well,” WalletHub’s Jill Gonzalez told The Center Square. “We looked at 182 cities, and Aurora ranked 171st and Chicago ranked 154th.”
While the Windy City has long been notorious for its corrupt political machine and criminal underworld, it has particularly languished under the mismanagement of current Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has shown little interest in tackling its skyrocketing rate of violent crime except to procure personal police protection for herself.
Nonetheless, high-crime areas like San Francisco and New Orleans fared well due to strong performances in other categories.
Democrats who control the Illinois legislature, along with Gov. JB Pritzger, also contributed to some of the state’s overall issues, such as oppressive tax rates (despite a recent rebate in anticipation of election season).
“The cost of living is high, so when you are living on a fixed income, that is not helpful,” Gonzalez said. “It is also not very friendly to taxpayers, specifically not friendly to retired taxpayers.”
Illinois currently has among the highest tax burdens in the country, and Chicago and Aurora are tied on the list, ranking 175th in the nation in terms of affordability.
While Illinois did get two cities on the list, Gonzalez said the state is still lagging behind other midwestern states.
“There are some midwestern cities that did all right on this list,” Gonzalez said. “Minneapolis ranked 12th, Madison ranked 22nd, Fargo ranked 25th. So it is not like this is a midwestern problem.”
Illinois’s best overall ranking came in the activities section of the report, as Chicago ranked in the top 25 for most things to do for retirees.
According to WalletHub, the top city in the country to retire in is Charleston, South Carolina.
The bottom eight places were all in regions considered to be dominated by Democrat politics such as Vancouver, Washington; Detroit, Michigan; Newark, New Jersey; and three California cities.
Placing lowest on the list, surprisingly, was Bridgeport, Connecticut—a relatively affluent area, but still one in which retirees on a fixed income may struggle.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to the report.
