Rankings conflict: Is California sixth-worst state to retire to

California is the sixth-worst state to retire in.

Or 15th best.

Thats the confusing message from three recent state-by-state, best-to-retire rankings based on a myriad of economic and demographic stats.

Data crunchers at Bankrate and Kiplingers both ranked California No. 45 among the states for desirability as a place to live out ones golden years. But statisticians at WalletHub placed California 30 notches higher!

How do you explain the gap? Well, lets look at how Californias grades varied by those doing the rankings.

Remember, when it comes to rankings, beauty is in the eyes of the grader. My trusty spreadsheet — filled with retirement data and rankings of WalletHub, Bankrate and Kiplingers — found that even population counts display a deep statistical divide.

Yes, California has 5 million people aged 65 or older, the largest number of seniors in the nation. Certainly, that means something. But that flock equals only 12.9 percent of all Californias, the sixth-smallest share of 65-plus residents nationally. Are we young? Or unattractive to retirees?

Then look at the ranking divergence when it came to expenses. Yes, Californias expensive … but just how much pricier vs. other states is up for debate.

Bankrate found California third worst for cost-of-living and third-worst for its tax rates. But WalletHub scored California 14th worst for “affordability.” And Kiplingers noted Californias 65-plus households had a $65,904 average income, sixth-best among the states.

As for scoring conditions for care for seniors, Bankrate ranked California No. 19 for healthcare quality and No. 14 for well-being. WalletHub gave the state a No. 16 ranking for healthcare. And Kiplingers cited average healthcare costs for a retired couple of $430,867. Thats above a national average of $423,523 and 10th highest among the states.

Of course, California “cool” scored well. Bankrate gave the state a No. 14 ranking for the weather, No. 20 for culture, but 19th-worst for its crime. WalletHub ranked the state third-best for quality of life.

California appeared trickier to grade than other states as the three rankings had some agreement on the where-to-retire extremes.

Best states? Well, South Dakota made the top three among each surveyor: For Wallethub it was Florida, Colorado and South Dakota; Bankrate was South Dakota, Utah and Idaho; and Kiplingers list was topped by South Dakota, Hawaii and Georgia.

Worst states? New York and Maryland got double dings in the bottom-three grades: Wallethub (Kentucky, New Jersey, and Rhode Island); Bankrate (New York, New Mexico, and Maryland); and Kiplingers (New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland).

Heres how the 50 states ranked in this trio of gradings for retirement quality, listed in alphabetical order …

State	Wallethub	Bankrate	Kiplingers
Alabama	41	24	28
Alaska	30	36	42
Arizona	10	29	17
Arkansas	46	46	49
California	15	45	26
Colorado	2	17	11
Connecticut	34	35	20
Delaware	25	19	13
Florida	1	5	1
Georgia	37	37	45
Hawaii	42	11	5
Idaho	8	3	12
Illinois	31	44	46
Indiana	32	22	43
Iowa	4	16	9
Kansas	17	25	23
Kentucky	50	30	48
Louisiana	44	47	50
Maine	23	22	14
Maryland	38	48	41
Massachusetts	19	12	8
Michigan	29	14	21
Minnesota	11	28	19
Mississippi	47	10	36
Missouri	18	15	24
Montana	13	6	7
Nebraska	33	9	22
Nevada	16	42	38
New Hampshire	7	4	3
New Jersey	49	32	35
New Mexico	43	48	47
New York	40	50	40
N. Carolina	28	6	15
N. Dakota	24	20	27
Ohio	20	38	32
Oklahoma	36	40	44
Oregon	26	39	31
Pennsylvania	14	31	16
Rhode Island	48	34	34
S. Carolina	27	41	39
S. Dakota	3	1	2
Tennessee	35	21	30
Texas	22	17	29
Utah	9	2	6
Vermont	39	26	10
Virginia	5	13	4
Washington	21	43	33
W. Virginia	45	33	37
Wisconsin	12	26	25
Wyoming	6	8	18