Where should you spend your golden years?
Preparing for the end of life isn't always at the forefront of our minds. But the place you live actually has a huge impact on your access to end of life care, how much you'll pay and how your assets can be passed onto your heirs. In short — some cities are better to die in than others.
The Zebra looked at 50 of the most populous American cities to find which ones have the best holistic end of life services. We analyzed five main data points in our search:
- Average funeral and end of life costs by state: This totals the average costs of a funeral and end of life costs in each state.
- Estate taxes: Some states charge heirs estate tax on inherited assets. States without estate tax allow for a larger inheritance that doesn't require money to go to the state government.
- Number of morticians, undertakers and funeral arrangers: This statistic looks at the number of industry professionals compared to the city's population.
- Palliative care report card by state: This report card grades each state's hospitals based on the quality of care given to patients with serious illness.Â
- Total number of Medicare hospital beds per state: This indicates the availability of affordable hospital care statewide.
From quality of life to the flexibility of estate planning, where you live has a huge impact on what happens in your final days and beyond. See if your city makes the cut.
