Here’s Exactly How Much Savings You Need To Retire in Your State

The average American’s lack of savings paints a fairly discouraging picture of retirement.

A GOBankingRates survey found that a third of Americans have less than $100 in savings — putting a crimp in retirement funds. Many Americans see themselves working past age 65 out of financial necessity, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, with some people planning to never retire at all. The pandemic also threw some people’s futures into question, especially those who had to draw from retirement savings during job loss or furlough.

But the amount of money you need to retire depends on where you live, due to state-by-state differences in the cost of living. In some areas of the country, a nest egg of a bit more than $500,000 may be sizable enough for retirement. In other regions, you have to build up your savings even more to reach at least $1.8 million in retirement funds.

To find out exactly how much you need saved to retire, GOBankingRates calculated annual expenditures for a retired person in every state after deducting Social Security income, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. The study assumed that you would draw down your savings by 4% every year to cover your living expenses, and states were ranked from the smallest nest egg needed to the biggest.

GOBankingRates found that residents of many Southeastern and Southwestern states won’t have to put away nearly as much money for retirement, with states such Mississippi and Kansas requiring less than $550,000 in savings to retire. However, the residents of the Northeastern states aren’t so lucky — they claimed seven spots among the bottom 10 states for the cost of retirement. To ensure smooth sailing in your golden years, make sure you’re using the right tools to save for retirement.

• Annual cost of living: $39,633.31
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $20,213.83
• How much you need in savings to retire: $505,346

• Annual cost of living: $41,155.84
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $21,736.36
• How much you need in savings to retire: $543,409

• Annual cost of living: $41,821.94
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $22,402.46
• How much you need in savings to retire: $560,062

• Annual cost of living: $41,821.94
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $22,402.46
• How much you need in savings to retire: $560,062

• Annual cost of living: $42,250.15
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $22,830.67
• How much you need in savings to retire: $570,767

• Annual cost of living: $42,345.31
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $22,925.83
• How much you need in savings to retire: $573,146

• Annual cost of living: $42,795.94
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $23,306.46
• How much you need in savings to retire: $582,662

• Annual cost of living: $42,773.52
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $23,354.04
• How much you need in savings to retire: $583,851

• Annual cost of living: $43,059.00
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $23,639.52
• How much you need in savings to retire: $590,988

• Annual cost of living: $43,106.57
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $23,687.09
• How much you need in savings to retire: $592,177

• Annual cost of living: $43,249.31
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $23,829.83
• How much you need in savings to retire: $595,746

• Annual cost of living: $43,296.89
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $23,877.41
• How much you need in savings to retire: $596,935

• Annual cost of living: $43,439.63
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $24,020.15
• How much you need in savings to retire: $600,504

• Annual cost of living: $43,439.63
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $24,020.15
• How much you need in savings to retire: $600,504

• Annual cost of living: $43,820.26
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $24,400.78
• How much you need in savings to retire: $610,019

• Annual cost of living: $44,248.47
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $24,828.99
• How much you need in savings to retire: $620,725

• Annual cost of living: $44,296.05
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $24,876.57
• How much you need in savings to retire: $621,914

• Annual cost of living: $44,533.94
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $25,114.46
• How much you need in savings to retire: $627,861

• Annual cost of living: $44,581.52
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $25,162.04
• How much you need in savings to retire: $629,051

• Annual cost of living: $44,867.00
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $25,447.52
• How much you need in savings to retire: $636,188

• Annual cost of living: $44,867.00
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $25,447.52
• How much you need in savings to retire: $636,188

• Annual cost of living: $45,533.10
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $26,113.62
• How much you need in savings to retire: $652,841

• Annual cost of living: $45,866.16
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $26,446.68
• How much you need in savings to retire: $661,167

• Annual cost of living: $46,723
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $27,303
• How much you need in savings to retire: $682,577

• Annual cost of living: $47,103.21
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $27,683.73
• How much you need in savings to retire: $692,093

• Annual cost of living: $47,579
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $28,159.52
• How much you need in savings to retire: $703,988

• Annual cost of living: $47,721.74
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $28,302.26
• How much you need in savings to retire: $707,556

• Annual cost of living: $47,912.05
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $28,492.57
• How much you need in savings to retire: $712,314

• Annual cost of living: $48,055
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $28,635
• How much you need in savings to retire: $715,883

• Annual cost of living: $48,435
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $29,016
• How much you need in savings to retire: $725,399

• Annual cost of living: $48,578
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $29,159
• How much you need in savings to retire: $728,967

• Annual cost of living: $48,768
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $29,349
• How much you need in savings to retire: $733,725

• Annual cost of living: $49,102
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $29,682
• How much you need in savings to retire: $742,051

• Annual cost of living: $50,101
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $30,681
• How much you need in savings to retire: $767,030

• Annual cost of living: $50,576
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $31,157
• How much you need in savings to retire: $778,925

• Annual cost of living: $51,338
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $31,918
• How much you need in savings to retire: $797,957

• Annual cost of living: $52,289
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $32,870
• How much you need in savings to retire: $821,746

• Annual cost of living: $53,098
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $33,679
• How much you need in savings to retire: $841,967

• Annual cost of living: $54,716
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $35,296
• How much you need in savings to retire: $882,409

• Annual cost of living: $54,811
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $35,392
• How much you need in savings to retire: $884,788

• Annual cost of living: $55,667
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $36,248
• How much you need in savings to retire: $906,199

• Annual cost of living: $55,763
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $36,343
• How much you need in savings to retire: $908,578

• Annual cost of living: $57,856.06
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $38,436.58
• How much you need in savings to retire: $960,915

• Annual cost of living: $58,997.96
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $39,578.48
• How much you need in savings to retire: $989,462

• Annual cost of living: $60,473
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $41,053
• How much you need in savings to retire: $1,026,336

• Annual cost of living: $61,900.28
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $42,480.80
• How much you need in savings to retire: $1,062,020

• Annual cost of living: $64,232
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $44,812
• How much you need in savings to retire: $1,120,304

• Annual cost of living: $67,657
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $48,238
• How much you need in savings to retire: $1,205,946

• Annual cost of living: $70,512
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $51,093
• How much you need in savings to retire: $1,277,315

• Annual cost of living: $91,970.21
• Cost of living after using Social Security income: $72,550.73
• How much you need in savings to retire: $1,813,768

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Jami Farkas and Alexandria Bova contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: In order to find out exactly how much you need to retire in your state, GOBankingRates found the annual cost of expenditures for a retired person in each state by multiplying the 65 year and older expenditures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey by the cost of living index for each state from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2021 cost of living series. To find how much money a retired person would need to save, we divided each state’s annual expenditures, minus the annual Social Security income as sourced from the Social Security Administration’s Monthly Statistical Snapshot, March 2022, by .04, assuming drawing down savings by 4 percent each year to pay for living expenses. All data was collected and is up to date as of May 9, 2022.