9 Worst States To Collect Social Security

While there are several states across the United States where retirees stand to receive big Social Security payouts or where it’s possible to live off your Social Security benefits, this isn’t the case in all 50 states. There are nine U.S. states that tax Social Security income in 2024. If you live in one of them, paying this tax may impact your retirement plans.

To determine which states are among the worst to collect Social Security, GOBankingRates isolated the nine states that tax Social Security and looked at each state’s total annual expenditures cost. Additional composite cost-of-living indexes — including those for grocery, housing, utility, transportation and healthcare costs — were also factored via the Missouri Economic Information and Research Center. 

Ranked from ninth place (most expensive) to No. 1 (cheapest, relatively), read on to see which states are among the worst for collecting Social Security.

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $66,664
• Annual cost of groceries: $5,027
• Annual housing costs: $15,562
• Annual cost of utilities: $5,117
• Annual transportation costs: $5,284
• Annual healthcare costs: $7,992
• Annual necessities cost: $38,983

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $65,219
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,879
• Annual housing costs: $14,334
• Annual cost of utilities: $5,524
• Annual transportation costs: $4,963
• Annual healthcare costs: $8,196
• Annual necessities cost: $37,895

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $64,005
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,879
• Annual housing costs: $13,656
• Annual cost of utilities: $4,761
• Annual transportation costs: $4,572
• Annual healthcare costs: $8,121
• Annual necessities cost: $35,989

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $60,767
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,864
• Annual housing costs: $13,282
• Annual cost of utilities: $3,867
• Annual transportation costs: $5,200
• Annual healthcare costs: $7,570
• Annual necessities cost: $34,784

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $59,668
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,763
• Annual housing costs: $12,943
• Annual cost of utilities: $4,020
• Annual transportation costs: $5,195
• Annual healthcare costs: $6,861
• Annual necessities cost: $33,783

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $59,495
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,917
• Annual housing costs: $12,136
• Annual cost of utilities: $3,931
• Annual transportation costs: $5,388
• Annual healthcare costs: $7,367
• Annual necessities cost: $33,739

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $54,407
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,711
• Annual housing costs: $9,599
• Annual cost of utilities: $3,956
• Annual transportation costs: $4,805
• Annual healthcare costs: $8,234
• Annual necessities cost: $31,304

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $54,349
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,624
• Annual housing costs: $10,207
• Annual cost of utilities: $3,944
• Annual transportation costs: $4,681
• Annual healthcare costs: $7,487
• Annual necessities cost: $30,943

• Taxes Social Security? Yes
• Annual expenditures: $50,359
• Annual cost of groceries: $4,663
• Annual housing costs: $7,880
• Annual cost of utilities: $4,516
• Annual transportation costs: $4,454
• Annual healthcare costs: $7,306
• Annual necessities cost: $28,819

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at the nine states that tax Social Security income. With these nine states isolated, GOBankingRates then looked at each state’s total annual expenditures cost using the 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for those 65-plus and being factored out by the Missouri Economic Information and Research Center’s 2023 composite cost-of-living indexes. All research was collected and is up to date as of March 13, 2024.