Nationwide ranking of retirement cities shows New Jersey is going to cost you

Financial publication WalletHub ranked nearly 180 cities to see which ones were the best places for retirees. And it seems that people might want to retire in any number of places other than New Jersey.

Jersey City and Newark were the two New Jersey cities listed in the ranking, in the 156th and 178th positions respectively. The ranking considered 45 metrics that included cost of living, tax laws, health care and availability of recreational activities. Both New Jersey cities scored particularly poorly in the benchmarks regarding affordability.

That is consistent with a previous WalletHub ranking of states, which placed the Garden State in second to last place as a retirement location, mostly because of affordability issues.

On the other hand, Florida took the cake, with Orlando and Miami ranking in the first two positions. The lack of estate, inheritance and state income tax along with a plethora of recreational activities and centers for seniors makes these two cities an ideal place for retirees, the ranking says.

Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg were three other Florida cities that ranked in the top ten positions for similar reasons.

According to the ranking, both neighboring New York City and Philadelphia offer better conditions for retirees. While New York ranked as the least affordable, it scored high in the quality of life and recreation benchmarks. Philadelphia boasted a higher score in terms of affordability, recreational activities, quality of life and health care.

Here’s how some U.S. places ranked: