How Long $500K Will Last in Retirement in Each State

When pondering the question, “How much do I need to retire?” there is never a one-size-fits-all answer. What one person could happily live on, another might be dissatisfied with. Although conventional wisdom suggests having a retirement nest egg of at least $1 million, that’s a difficult number to achieve for many Americans.

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To paint a more realistic picture of retirement finances, GOBankingRates determined how long $500,000 will last in every state. To do this, the study analyzed average spending data — including groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care — for people ages 65 and older.

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$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 5 years, 2 months and 24 days
• Annual expenditure: $95,538.52

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$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 7 years, 1 month and 1 day
• Annual Expenditure: $70,523.40

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 7 years, 3 months and 19 days
• Annual Expenditure: $68,502.94

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 7 years, 9 months and 7 days
• Annual Expenditure: $64,317.72

$500,000 will last:

• Years, Months, and Days: 7 years, 11 months and 31 days
• Annual Expenditure: $62,489.69

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 1 month and 27 days
• Annual Expenditure: $61,238.94

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 2 months and 2 days
• Annual Expenditure: $61,190.83

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 5 months and 12 days
• Annual Expenditure: $61,190.83

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 8 months and 8 days
• Annual Expenditure: $57,534.78

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 10 months and 23 days
• Annual Expenditure: $56,187.81

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 11 months and 4 days
• Annual Expenditure: $55,995.38

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$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 8 years, 11 months and 11 days
• Annual Expenditure: $55,851.07

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 9 years, 2 months and 13 days
• Annual Expenditure: $54,359.78

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 9 years, 6 months and 19 days
• Annual Expenditure: $52,339.33

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 9 years, 7 months and 2 days
• Annual Expenditure: $52,146.90

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 9 years, 7 months and 24 days
• Annual Expenditure: $51,810.16

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 9 years, 11 months and 19 days
• Annual Expenditure: $50,126.45

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 9 years, 11 months and 26 days
• Annual Expenditure: $50,030.24

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 2 months and 28 days
• Annual Expenditure: $48,827.59

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 3 months and 4 days
• Annual Expenditure: $48,731.38

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 3 months and 26 days
• Annual Expenditure: $48,442.74

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 4 months and 29 days
• Annual Expenditure: $48,009.79

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 4 months and 29 days
• Annual Expenditure: $48,009.79

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 5 months and 16 days
• Annual Expenditure: $47,817.36

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 7 months and 13 days
• Annual Expenditure: $47,095.77

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 9 months and 7 days
• Annual Expenditure: $46,422.29

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 9 months and 26 days
• Annual Expenditure: $46,229.87

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 9 months and 26 days
• Annual Expenditure: $46,229.87

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 10 years, 10 months and 2 days
• Annual Expenditure: $46,133.65

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 1o years, 11 months and 8 days
• Annual Expenditure: $45,700.70

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 0 months and 7 days
• Annual Expenditure: $45,363.96

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days:11 years, 0 months and 25 days
• Annual Expenditure: $45,171.53

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days:11 years, 1 month and 5 days
• Annual Expenditure: $45,027.22

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days:11 years, 1 month and 23 days
• Annual Expenditure: $44,834.79

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 2 months and 6 days
• Annual Expenditure: $44,738.58

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 2 months and 17 days
• Annual Expenditure: $44,594.26

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 3 months and 8 days
• Annual Expenditure: $44,353.73

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 3 months and 19 days
• Annual Expenditure: $44,257.52

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 4months and 18 days
• Annual Expenditure: $43,920.78

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 5 months and 20 days
• Annual Expenditure: $43,584.04

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 6 months and 26 days
• Annual Expenditure: $43,199.19

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 7 months and 3 days
• Annual Expenditure: $43,151.08

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 7 months and 3 days
• Annual Expenditure: $43,151.08

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 7 months and 21 days
• Annual Expenditure: $42,958.66

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 7 months and 25 days
• Annual Expenditure: $42,910.55

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 8 months and 1 day
• Annual Expenditure: $42,862.45

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 9months and 18 days
• Annual Expenditure: $42,381.39

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 11 months and 1 day
• Annual Expenditure: $41,948.43

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 11 years, 11 months and 20 days
• Annual Expenditure: $41,756.01

$500,000 will last:

•  Years, Months, and Days: 12 years, 3 months and 18 days
• Annual Expenditure: $40,649.57

When you’re trying to gauge how long $500,000 will last you, where you choose to live is crucial due to the difference in cost-of-living expenses across the nation.

For example, as far as location goes, Mississippi ranks as the top choice for making $500,000 last as long as possible. According to the data, however, $500,000 in Mississippi will last only about four months longer than it would in Kansas, which is the second-best place to retire with $500,000.

If Hawaii, California or New York are your dream retirement destinations, $500,000 won’t last nearly as long. These states are considered some of the worst choices to retire in with that size of a nest egg as savings. For example, if you were to move to Hawaii instead of Mississippi, you would get nearly seven fewer years, on average, out of your retirement savings.

But location isn’t the only thing to consider. You also need to decide how you’ll spend your money, and weigh that against the average cost-of-living expenses in your chosen state. Perhaps you plan on sharing a home with someone else who can afford to pay half of the expenses. Or maybe transportation costs aren’t an issue for you because you plan to use a free or low-cost transit system.

Whatever the case, to make your $500,000 nest egg go the distance, it’s important to choose a retirement destination that will best serve your specific needs at the most affordable cost.

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Jami Farkas contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: In order to find how long $500,000 will last across the country, GOBankingRates first found (1) the national average annual expenditures for people 65 and older, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2019/2020 Midyear Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Then, GOBankingRates created (2) state-level annual expenditure estimates by multiplying the national figure by each state’s overall cost of living index score for 2020 from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Finally, GOBankingRates found (3) how many years $500,000 will last in each state by dividing $500,000 by each state’s average annual expenditures estimate. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were then ranked with No. 1 being the state where $500,000 will last the longest and No. 51 being the state where it will run out most quickly. GOBankingRates provided supplemental information on the average annual cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and healthcare for people 65 and older in each state by again using MERIC’s cost of living indices for each category to factor out national estimates from the CES. All data was collected on and up to date as of May 20, 2021.