Cost of Living After Social Security in the Largest City in Every State

Living off Social Security alone has long been discouraged for retirees. This is particularly true of those retiring in large cities with high cost of living. 

According to a recent GOBankingRates study, retirees in the nation’s 50 largest cities still have substantial living expenses to cover after Social Security. The lowest end is $24,788 in Jackson, Mississippi, while retirees in New York City are faced with as much as $85,913.

Key factors in the study include the average annual expenditure for people 65 and older, the annual Social Security income and remaining expenditures once this income is subtracted from the annual expenditure.

In alphabetical state order, here’s how much retirees can anticipate paying after Social Security in each state’s largest city. Curious about how much you’d need to retire without Social Security? We did the math for every state.

• Total population: 218,814
• Annual expenditure: $59,730
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $36,265

• Total population: 289,069
• Annual expenditure: $73,236
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $49,770

• Total population: 1,624,832
• Annual expenditure: $71,651
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $48,185

• Total population: 202,739
• Annual expenditure: $51,170
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $27,705

• Total population: 3,857,897
• Annual expenditure: $102,531
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $79,065

• Total population: 713,734
• Annual expenditure: $80,909
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $57,443

• Total population: 148,012
• Annual expenditure: $87,883
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $64,418

• Total population: 71,124
• Annual expenditure: $66,008
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $42,542

• Total population: 961,739
• Annual expenditure: $60,681
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $37,216

• Total population: 499,287
• Annual expenditure: $71,841
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $48,376

• Total population: 346,323
• Annual expenditure: $108,745
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $85,279

• Total population: 235,701
• Annual expenditure: $75,836
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $52,370

• Total population: 2,707,648
• Annual expenditure: $67,022
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $43,557

• Total population: 882,043
• Annual expenditure: $54,341
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $30,875

• Total population: 212,464
• Annual expenditure: $54,911
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $31,446

• Total population: 396,488
• Annual expenditure: $52,502
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $29,036

• Total population: 627,210
• Annual expenditure: $56,940
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $33,475

• Total population: 376,035
• Annual expenditure: $64,423
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $40,957

• Total population: 68,505
• Annual expenditure: $71,334
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $47,868

• Total population: 577,193
• Annual expenditure: $58,716
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $35,250

• Total population: 663,972
• Annual expenditure: $95,619
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $72,154

• Total population: 636,644
• Annual expenditure: $58,209
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $34,743

• Total population: 426,845
• Annual expenditure: $67,973
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $44,508

• Total population: 149,827
• Annual expenditure: $48,253
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $24,788

• Total population: 508,233
• Annual expenditure: $56,053
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $32,587

• Total population: 118,321
• Annual expenditure: $59,984
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $36,518

• Total population: 488,197
• Annual expenditure: $57,574
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $34,109

• Total population: 650,873
• Annual expenditure: $70,129
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $46,663

• Total population: 115,415
• Annual expenditure: $70,193
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $46,727

• Total population: 307,188
• Annual expenditure: $85,601
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $62,135

• Total population: 562,488
• Annual expenditure: $58,335
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $34,870

• Total population: 8,516,202
• Annual expenditure: $109,379
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $85,913

• Total population: 886,283
• Annual expenditure: $64,993
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $41,527

• Total population: 129,064
• Annual expenditure: $57,448
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $33,982

• Total population: 906,480
• Annual expenditure: $57,955
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $34,489

• Total population: 688,693
• Annual expenditure: $54,214
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $30,748

• Total population: 642,715
• Annual expenditure: $80,972
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $57,506

• Total population: 1,582,432
• Annual expenditure: $66,135
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $42,669

• Total population: 190,214
• Annual expenditure: $68,988
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $45,522

• Total population: 152,014
• Annual expenditure: $71,017
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $47,551

• Total population: 197,642
• Annual expenditure: $57,511
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $34,045

• Total population: 684,298
• Annual expenditure: $66,388
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $42,922

• Total population: 2,300,419
• Annual expenditure: $61,442
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $37,977

• Total population: 203,888
• Annual expenditure: $76,914
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $53,448

• Total population: 44,649
• Annual expenditure: $71,271
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $47,805

• Total population: 457,066
• Annual expenditure: $66,452
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $42,986

• Total population: 741,440
• Annual expenditure: $100,248
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $76,782

• Total population: 47,918
• Annual expenditure: $51,551
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $28,085

• Total population: 569,756
• Annual expenditure: $55,799
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $32,333

• Total population: 64,976
• Annual expenditure: $63,598
• Yearly Social Security income: $23,466
• Annual expenditure after Social Security: $40,132

Explore more original studies and surveys in the GOBankingRates original research center.

Methodology: GOBankingRates found the most populous cities in every state from the 2023 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. GOBankingRates then found (1) the national average annual expenditures for people 65 and older, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey data (which was adjusted to 2025 dollars using the BLS CPI inflation calculator) and (2) annual Social Security income as sourced from the Social Security Administration’s August 2025 data. Then, GOBankingRates created (2) city-level annual expenditure estimates by multiplying the national figure by each city’s overall cost-of-living index score from Sperling’s BestPlaces. All data was collected on Nov. 20, 2025.