The Cost To Retire Comfortably for 30 Years in the 16 Southern States

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If you’re eyeing the South for retirement, you have plenty of company. Southern states offer retirees a lower cost of living than many alternatives, along with mild temperatures and other perks for the 65+ age group. And we’re not just talking about retiree-heavy Florida.

In hiring firm Hire A Helper’s most recent study, five of the 10 most popular destinations for retirees switching states were located in the South. Florida was No. 1 with 11% of the total. South Carolina was right on Florida’s tail with 10%. Other Southern states in the top 10 included Texas (fourth, 5.8%), Tennessee (sixth, 3.8%) and North Carolina (tenth, 3%).

In addition to those states, the South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Virginia and West Virginia. The cost of living (as well as the cost of living comfortably) varies widely from Southern state to Southern state, so it’s worth doing some homework before you pick your spot and pack your bags.

GOBankingRates has done some of that homework for you by establishing a rough annual cost of living for each state, then doubling it to estimate how much you’ll need to live comfortably. You can check out our full methodology at the bottom.

With retirements getting longer as lifespans increase, we’ve penciled out an amount you would need for a 30-year retirement in each Southern state. We’ve also thrown in data for 15- and 20-year retirements in order to live comfortably.

Alabama

• Total population: 5,074,296
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $68,573
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,028,600
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,371,466
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,057,199

Arkansas

• Total population: 3,045,637
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $66,709
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,000,642
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,334,189
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,001,283

Delaware

• Total population: 1,018,396
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $97,435
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,461,523
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,948,697
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,923,045

Florida

• Total population: 22,244,823
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $102,687
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,540,304
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $2,053,738
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $3,080,607

Georgia

• Total population: 10,912,876
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $86,125
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,291,873
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,722,497
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,583,745

Kentucky

• Total population: 4,512,310
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $70,659
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,059,884
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,413,179
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,119,768

Louisiana

• Total population: 4,590,241
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $68,734
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,031,017
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,374,690
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,062,035

Maryland

• Total population: 6,164,660
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $109,346
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,640,196
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $2,186,928
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $3,280,391

Mississippi

• Total population: 2,940,057
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $64,074
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $961,104
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,281,472
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $1,922,208

North Carolina

• Total population: 10,698,973
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $88,689
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,330,333
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,773,777
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,660,665

Oklahoma

• Total population: 4,019,800
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $66,422
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $996,331
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,328,442
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $1,992,663

South Carolina

• Total population: 5,282,634
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $82,141
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,232,108
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,642,811
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,464,216

Tennessee

• Total population: 7,051,339
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $84,056
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,260,843
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,681,124
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,521,686

Texas

• Total population: 30,029,572
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $81,578
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,223,673
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,631,564
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,447,345

Virginia

• Total population: 8,683,619
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $99,717
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $1,495,757
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,994,343
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $2,991,514

West Virginia

• Total population: 1,775,156
• Annual cost to live comfortably: $60,957
• Total cost to live comfortably, 15 years: $914,362
• Total cost to live comfortably, 20 years: $1,219,149
• Total cost to live comfortably, 30 years: $1,828,724

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates found the cost of living for each Southern U.S. state as sourced from the Missouri Economic Research Information Center. For each state, the average expenditure costs for residents aged 65 and over were calculated using the national average expenditure costs (sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey). The average single family home value was sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index. By assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate (sourced from Federal Reserve Economic Data), the average mortgage was calculated. Using the average mortgage and expenditure costs, the total monthly and annual cost of living was calculated. These costs were doubled to determine numbers for “living comfortably” and figured for 15-, 20- and 30-year periods. An inflation rate of 2.53% was used (sourced from USInflationCalculator.com). An expected annual rate of return of 10.52% was used (sourced from Vanguard’s How America Saves). All data was collected on and is up to date as of September 16th, 2024.

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