An annual Best and Worst States to Retire study lumps Michigan with the latter for 2024, well behind all of its neighbors.

The financial site Bankrate’s annual study examined dozens of data points on affordability, overall well-being, cost and quality of healthcare, weather and crime to rank states from the best to worst for retirement in 2024.

“Those categories serve as a reminder that many things go into deciding where to move in retirement, but we weighed affordability the heaviest in the ranking to reflect the challenges that so many Americans face with their retirement savings and the rising cost of living across the U.S.,” researchers wrote.

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Overall, Bankrate ranked Michigan 37^th, down 24 spots from the state’s 13^th place finish the year prior. All but one category ranked in the bottom half nationally, with declines in rankings for most categories. The Great Lakes State ranked 21^st for affordability, 26^th for healthcare, 26^th for crime, 31^st for well-being, and 40^th for weather.

In 2023, Bankrate ranked Michigan 11^th for affordability, 24^th for healthcare, 26^th for crime, 29^th for well-being, and 40^th for weather.

Michigan’s rank of 37 among states is more than 10 spots behind all its neighbors, with Illinois in 16^th, Wisconsin in 20^th, Indiana in 23^rd, and Ohio in 26^th.

“In our overall ranking, the best and worst states for retirees are split geographically,” the report read. “The Midwest and the South claim the top five states, while the Northeast and West claim the bottom five states, primarily because of differences in the cost of living.”

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Bankrate ranked Delaware as the best state for retirees in 2024, followed by West Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, and Missouri. The bottom five states include Alaska in 50^th, behind New York, Washington, California, and North Dakota.

The Best and Worst States to Retire Study is the latest drop in a sea of reports, analysis, rankings and studies that tell the depressing story of Michigan’s obvious decline over the last five years.

Under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michiganders pay the most in the country for auto insurance, and among the highest rates for some of the least reliable electricity.

One study ranked Michigan the second most violent state in the country, while another shows the state’s terrible roads are costing motorists $17 billion a year.

With 41% of Michiganders struggling paycheck to paycheck, researchers have found “Michigan residents are the most financially distressed people in the country.” In many places, less than half of residents can afford a “survival income,” according to the United Way.

Universities are hiking tuition, citing rising costs and declining enrollment, while the state’s K-12 rankings slide and students remain behind years after Whitmer’s pandemic edicts.

There’s also widening racial health disparities, skyrocketing homelessness, runaway home prices, and growing layoffs.

Unfortunately, most experts, analysts and industry leaders expect things will likely get worse before they get better.

More than twice as many Michigan CEOs think the state’s economy will decline than believe it will improve through the second half of 2024.

Health insurance rates are “poised for a giant leap next year,” as are rates for electrical service.

As many folks leave for more affordable states, Whitmer’s administration is scrambling to address the population decline.

But Michigan has set records in other respects with Whitmer’s leadership.

The state set a 30-year high of more than 31,000 abortions in 2023, and overtook California as the national leader for marijuana sales volume.

Whitmer has also invested billions of taxpayer dollars in the electric vehicle industry.

An analysis of the first $1 billion spent shows she’s already created 200 jobs.