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Minnesota Listed As One Of The Best States For Retirees

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It's not unusual for Minnesota to come out on top of national ranking lists, but the findings of a new one are a bit surprising.

Turns out: The Land of 10,000 Lakes is one of the best states for retirees.

The financial services company Bankrate says Minnesota is the No. 5 state for retirees in the country, scoring high on culture, health care quality and senior well-being.

"No surprise that the state that's home to Mayo Clinic ranks near the top for health care," the company said on its website. "Minnesota also provides retirees with low costs, safe cities and an all-around comfortable way of life. Just be sure to bundle up during the often harsh winters."

The No. 1 state on the list was New Hampshire, followed by Colorado, Maine and Iowa.

Meanwhile, the states generally associated with retirement, like sunny Florida and Arizona, didn't crack the top 10, coming in at No. 17 and No. 12, respectively.

In order to rank the states, Bankrate says it looked at eight criteria: cost of living, health care quality, crime, cultural vitality, weather, taxes, senior community, and overall senior well-being.

Not surprisingly, Minnesota scored low on weather, with the third-worst ranking in the nation.

However, the state with the worst weather ranking, Alaska, was also was listed dead last, scoring poorly in criteria such as crime, cost of living and health care quality.

For more on the rankings, click here.

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