The Minimum Savings You Need To Be Able To Retire in All 50 States

Millions of Americans are worried that they won’t have enough savings to retire comfortably — and the concern is particularly severe among those over 50.

How much you should have saved for retirement depends on a few key factors, including your location. Where you choose to spend your golden years is critical. Living in California will look drastically different to your wallet than, say, living in Kansas will.

Let’s break this all down. How much do you need in savings to afford a retirement in each state? GOBankingRates recently surveyed to find out. 

To find out exactly how much you need to retire in each state, GOBankingRates found the annual cost of expenditures for a retired person in each state, along with the cost-of-living index and more.

Let’s explore how much you’ll need to spend your golden years in each state.

• Cost-of-living index: 84.8
• Annual cost of living: $50,954
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $28,517
• How much savings you need to retire: $712,913

• Cost-of-living index: 86.7
• Annual cost of living: $52,095
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $29,658
• How much savings you need to retire: $741,455

• Cost-of-living index: 87.5
• Annual cost of living: $52,576
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $30,139
• How much savings you need to retire: $753,472

• Cost-of-living index: 87.9
• Annual cost of living: $52,816
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $30,379
• How much savings you need to retire: $759,481

• Cost-of-living index: 88.8
• Annual cost of living: $53,357
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $30,920
• How much savings you need to retire: $773,000

• Cost-of-living index: 89.0
• Annual cost of living: $53,477
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $31,040
• How much savings you need to retire: $776,005

• Cost-of-living index: 89.0
• Annual cost of living: $53,477
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $31,040
• How much savings you need to retire: $776,005

• Cost-of-living index: 90.0
• Annual cost of living: $54,078
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $31,641
• How much savings you need to retire: $791,027

• Cost-of-living index: 90.4
• Annual cost of living: $54,319
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $31,881
• How much savings you need to retire: $797,035

• Cost-of-living index: 91.3
• Annual cost of living: $54,859
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $32,422
• How much savings you need to retire: $810,555

• Cost-of-living index: 91.5
• Annual cost of living: $54,980
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $32,542
• How much savings you need to retire: $813,559

• Cost-of-living index: 92.1
• Annual cost of living: $55,340
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $32,903
• How much savings you need to retire: $822,572

• Cost-of-living index: 92.3
• Annual cost of living: $55,460
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,023
• How much savings you need to retire: $825,577

• Cost-of-living index: 92.3
• Annual cost of living: $55,640
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,023
• How much savings you need to retire: $825,577

• Cost-of-living index: 92.6
• Annual cost of living: $55,640
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,203
• How much savings you need to retire: $830,083

• Cost-of-living index: 92.8
• Annual cost of living: $55,761
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,324
• How much savings you need to retire: $833,087

• Cost-of-living index: 92.9
• Annual cost of living: $55,821
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,384
• How much savings you need to retire: $834,590

• Cost-of-living index: 92.9
• Annual cost of living: $55,821
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,384
• How much savings you need to retire: $834,590

• Cost-of-living index: 93.5
• Annual cost of living: $56,181
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $33,744
• How much savings you need to retire: $843,603

• Cost-of-living index: 94.0
• Annual cost of living: $56,482
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,044
• How much savings you need to retire: $851,114

• Cost-of-living index: 94.9
• Annual cost of living: $57,023
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,585
• How much savings you need to retire: $864,633

• Cost-of-living index: 94.9
• Annual cost of living: $57,023
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,585
• How much savings you need to retire: $864,633

• Cost-of-living index: 95.2
• Annual cost of living: $57,203
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,766
• How much savings you need to retire: $869,140

• Cost-of-living index: 95.3
• Annual cost of living: $57,263
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,826
• How much savings you need to retire: $870,642

• Cost-of-living index: 95.4
• Annual cost of living: $57,323
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,886
• How much savings you need to retire: $872,144

• Cost-of-living index: 95.5
• Annual cost of living: $57,383
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $34,946
• How much savings you need to retire: $873,646

• Cost-of-living index: 97.6
• Annual cost of living: $58,645
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $36,207
• How much savings you need to retire: $905,192

• Cost-of-living index: 98.9
• Annual cost of living: $59,426
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $36,989
• How much savings you need to retire: $924,720

• Cost-of-living index: 99.3
• Annual cost of living: $59,666
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $37,229
• How much savings you need to retire: $930,729

• Cost-of-living index: 100.1
• Annual cost of living: $60,147
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $37,709
• How much savings you need to retire: $942,746

• Cost-of-living index: 100.2
• Annual cost of living: $60,207
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $37,770
• How much savings you need to retire: $944,248

• Cost-of-living index: 100.5
• Annual cost of living: $60,387
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $37,950
• How much savings you need to retire: $948,755

• Cost-of-living index: 102.0
• Annual cost of living: $61,289
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $38,852
• How much savings you need to retire: $971,288

• Cost-of-living index: 102.4
• Annual cost of living: $61,529
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $39,092
• How much savings you need to retire: $977,296

• Cost-of-living index: 102.7
• Annual cost of living: $61,709
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $39,272
• How much savings you need to retire: $981,803

• Cost-of-living index: 109.5
• Annual cost of living: $65,795
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $43,358
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,083,951

• Cost-of-living index: 110.0
• Annual cost of living: $66,096
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $43,658
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,091,462

• Cost-of-living index: 111.5
• Annual cost of living: $66,997
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $44,560
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,113,994

• Cost-of-living index: 111.7
• Annual cost of living: $67,117
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $44,680
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,116,998

• Cost-of-living index: 112.4
• Annual cost of living: $67,538
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $45,101
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,127,514

• Cost-of-living index: 112.8
• Annual cost of living: $67,778
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $45,341
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,133,522

• Cost-of-living index: 113.5
• Annual cost of living: $68,199
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $45,762
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,144,038

• Cost-of-living index: 113.6
• Annual cost of living: $68,259
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $45,282
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,145,540

• Cost-of-living index: 114.1
• Annual cost of living: $68,559
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $46,122
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,153,051

• Cost-of-living index: 114.8
• Annual cost of living: $68,980
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $46,543
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,163,566

• Cost-of-living index: 123.4
• Annual cost of living: $74,147
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $51,710
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,292,753

• Cost-of-living index: 123.4
• Annual cost of living: $74,147
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $51,710
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,292,753

• Cost-of-living index: 144.7
• Annual cost of living: $86,945
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $64,509
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,612,716

• Cost-of-living index: 146.9
• Annual cost of living: $88,627
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $65,831
• How much savings you need to retire: $1,645,764

• Cost-of-living index: 184.6
• Annual cost of living: $110,921
• Annual expenditures after Social Security: $88,483
• How much savings you need to retire: $2,212,084

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’ 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey by the cost-of-living index for each state from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2024 Q3 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 (sourced from the Social Security Administration’s Monthly Statistical Snapshot, November 2024), by .04, assuming drawing down savings by 4% each year to pay for living expenses. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Jan. 2, 2025.