Going Solo: South Dakota among Top States for Seniors Living Alone

If you've got to go it alone later in life, South Dakota is one of the top states where you can call home.

A new ranking of the best places for senior solo living has the Mount Rushmore State among the best places in the country.

Nice RX looked at the numbers of assisted living facilities, the costs associated with living in one, as well as healthcare access and quality, and found that South Dakota was a top-five destination.

Get our free mobile app

BEST STATES FOR SOLO SENIOR LIVING

1. Utah
2. Idaho
3. Wisconsin
4. Massachusetts
5. South Dakota
6. Colorado
7. New Jersey
8. (tie) Illinois, Connecticut, New Hampshire

South Dakota easily outpaced every other state in the top ten with 25.7 assisted living facilities per 100,000 people. The next closest was was Massachusetts (18.6).

The average annual cost of residing in an assisted living facility in the state ($43,650) was the second-lowest in the top ten, behind only top-ranked Utah ($40,800).

Seniors would need an average annual pension of $50,850 to live comfortably. That is the fourth-lowest in the top ten.

South Dakota did not fare as well in the healthcare rankings.

The state was 25th in healthcare quality, 27th in public health, and 34th in access to healthcare.