Maine boasts 2nd highest population of seniors yet is 5th least affordable state, according to report

(The Center Square) – Maine, which has the most elderly-friendly labor market and the second-highest population of people aged 65 or older, ranks as the 37th best state to retire in, according to an analysis from WalletHub.

The state’s overall score of 47.71 was based on measures of affordability (40-point weight), quality of life (30-point weight) and health care (30-point weight). Maine was ranked as the fifth least affordable state. It has the sixth-highest annual cost of adult day health care ($41,600), the 11th highest adjusted cost of living (116.52) and the 14th highest annual cost of in-home services ($64,064).

The state also has the 13th highest elderly food insecurity rate (15.50%) and the ninth-lowest access to public transportation (0.60%). The portion of people 65 or older in poverty is 8.70%, which is a portion above average among the states.

“Any actions that local authorities could take to lower the cost of living for retirees would definitely improve their lifestyle,” WalletHub analyst and communications director Jill Gonzalez told The Center Square via email. “These could come in the form of various subsidies for those aged 65+ for things like health care or public transportation. Another thing that would improve the quality of life for retirees in Maine would be encouraging and enabling them to be more physically active.”

Socially, seniors in Maine have about average (24th out of the 50 states) risk of social isolation and the 11th-lowest share of active seniors. It has the 27th highest access to adult volunteer activities (0.05) and golf courses per capita (0.14).

The benefits of living in Maine include its low crime rates and its natural environment. It has the lowest violent-crime rate (1.15), the fourth-lowest property crime rate (12.46), the seventh-highest air quality (5.30) and the fourth-greatest shoreline mileage (3478).

In health care measures, the Pine Tree State also has the fifth-highest health care facilities per capita, the 10th-highest number of family medicine physicians per capita (53.16) and the ninth-highest quality of elder abuse protections, based on WalletHub’s States with the Best Elder-Abuse Protections ranking. It has the seventh-highest ranking for the number of dentists per capita (44.18), home health aides per capita (1269.94) and quality of public hospitals (78.67%).

“In the case of Maine, retirees who are very well positioned financially fare better,” Gonzalez said. “Those who are in more need of health care are better served here as well.”

Maine cities Portland and Lewiston ranked 64th and 124th in WalletHub’s September 2020 analysis of 182 best and worst places to retire, based on affordability, activities, quality of life and health care measures.

Gonzalez said retirees’ impact on the state they live in depends on their needs and abilities.

“As a general rule (since we don’t have information for each state), retirees can be active consumers of goods and services, since they have less debt and more wealth. They can also be a resource for many services within the community, as they tend to volunteer more,” Gonzalez said. “On the other hand, having a large community of retirees requires good infrastructure that is able to support them, especially in the health care industry. Having more retirees who don’t have a lot of resources and are not in good health, can become a financial burden for a state.”

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