The ‘Unretirement’ Map: Where To Buy If You Plan To Keep Working After 65

For many years, retirement has been a foregone conclusion for most of us—walking away from your job, moving to Florida, and practicing your golf game.

Increasingly, however, older people are staying in the workforce, or even rejoining it. In fact, workers ages 55 and up have been the fastest-growing age group in the labor force for more than two decades. And as we continue to live longer and healthier lives, more and more people will continue to work through their so-called retirement years. 

That said, not every state or metro area affords the same possibilities to older workers as they do younger ones. If you’re looking ahead to the next chapter and trying to balance affordability and opportunity in the short-term with an eventual sunsetting in the long-term, where do you go?

A new report from CareScout has identified the top states for older workers. But your analysis shouldn’t stop there. Dig deeper into up-and-coming markets, and into the data around being an older worker, to decide what’s best for you. 

The top states for older workers, ranked

While some older workers are staying in their jobs to maintain a sense of purpose and community, many are doing so out of necessity: According to a recent AARP survey, 41% of respondents above 50 who are either working or looking for work say their main reason is to afford everyday living costs.

That means that even if you’re an older worker considering retirement, you may also want to live in an area where work opportunities—even part-time—are available in case costs increase or new needs arise. 

CareScout’s new analysis ranks the states where older workers are thriving in 2026, using factors such as rates of age discrimination, labor force participation among older adults, and personal tax rate. As you can see from the map above, New Hampshire comes in first among the best places for seniors still working to live. In fact, apart from Alaska, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, the list is dominated by East Coast states

Following close behind on this list are states like South Dakota, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. 

Where to buy, and where to avoid, within the top states

While this may seem encouraging to buy, not every market is equally enticing, says Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com®.

But almost every state at the top of the list promises opportunity for homebuyers. 

“Inventory is improving in nine of these 10 states—only Alaska is seeing inventory fall currently,” says Berner “In fact, in Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Vermont, inventory is growing on a year-over-year basis for 10% or more.” 

Berner also highlighted a few metro areas with homes near the national median, where prices are growing year after year: Fort Morgan, CO ($424,500); Greenfield, MA ($427,000); and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC ($436,000).

“These are healthy, attainable markets to buy into,” he says. 

In general, Massachusetts—with a statewide median listing price of $770,000—stands out as a state to potentially avoid from this list. You’ll get less bang for your buck there, unless you identify markets like Greenfield as worthy options. 

To find your fit, dig into the data

A high ranking on CareScout’s list is a useful starting point, not a verdict. The factors that push a state up or down the list may have little to do with what matters for your situation. To see how that plays out, look at a state that didn’t crack the top 10 at all: South Carolina, which lands at 45th on CareScout’s list.

That placement might surprise you, given how many older movers have the state in their sights. South Carolina is a prime landing spot for the “halfbacks,” retirees and near-retirees who once moved south to Florida and are now heading partway back up the coast. 

Joey Von Nessen, a research economist at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, points to how the underlying metrics can sometimes be misleading. Median household income, one of CareScout’s six factors, runs lower in South Carolina than in much of the country, but that figure needs context.

“Household income is lower in South Carolina, but our cost of living is also lower, and so that’s one factor that may not be as relevant when looking at a destination suited for older workers,” says Von Nessen.

Another caveat is understanding the types of jobs that are available in a particular state or market, and whether availability in those sectors is meaningful for you.

“Industry mix certainly matters in a state like South Carolina,” says Von Nessen. “We have more manufacturing relative to the national average, but we also have thriving service industries as well.”

That distinction matters for older workers in particular.

“Service jobs are usually going to be more appropriate for older workers,” he says, “and will often provide more opportunities to continue to work if that’s desirable for an individual.”

None of this makes South Carolina a better choice than New Hampshire, or any ranking wrong. It just means the criteria that matter to the people building these lists may not be the criteria that matter to you. So if a state like South Carolina appeals to you, dig into the methodology and decide for yourself which factors carry weight.

“A particular ranking may be good or bad … so it’s right to know what criteria they’re using, so you can know if that ranking is going to be useful for you.” says Von Nessen.

So where should you actually go?

Von Nessen tells older workers weighing a move to look first at job availability, especially part-time work, which he rates above flexibility.

Then consider reliable healthcare access, which matters more with age. Finally, think about housing that can grow old with you.

That last point is where the job search and the home search converge: Even people who plan to keep working will retire eventually, and most won’t want to move twice. A home set up to age in place, with a step-free entry or a ground-floor bedroom, is a long-term fit no state ranking will show you.

In general, the fact that older Americans are increasingly balancing work opportunities with retirement considerations speaks to a larger trend that no one has navigated before—which makes drilling down into what matters for you more important than ever. There is no blueprint for this moment. 

“We see the baby boomer generation now having more options than the previous generations did in terms of how they want to structure their retirement,” says Von Nessen. “Retirement is clearly evolving and means something very different today.”