Retirement may be a time to take it easy, but only if you have enough money to do so comfortably. According to a recent Charles Schwab survey, Americans think they’ll need $1.8 million in retirement savings to be able to retire comfortably.
If that sounds like a jaw-dropping amount of money, depending on which state you live in and the age at which you retire, that figure may not be far off.
In order to find out which states you’ll need more than $1 million to retire comfortably, GOBankingRates found the annual cost of expenditures for a retired person in each state using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey, the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and the Social Security Administration’s monthly statistical snapshot.
Here’s a look at the most expensive states to retire across America.
Key Findings
- The three most expensive states to retire in are California, Massachusetts and Hawaii.
- The three most affordable states to retire in are West Virginia, Mississippi and Oklahoma.
- Annual healthcare expenses, groceries and utilities are the most expensive in Alaska.
Colorado
- Annual expenditures: $61,807
- Cost of living index: 106.9
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,006,017
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,208,429
Arizona
- Annual expenditures: $63,600
- Cost of living index: 110
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,050,826
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,262,253
New Jersey
- Annual expenditures: $63,773
- Cost of living index: 110.3
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,055,162
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,267,462
Maine
- Annual expenditures: $64,004
- Cost of living index: 110.7
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,060,944
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,274,407
Rhode Island
- Annual expenditures: $64,756
- Cost of living index: 112
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,079,735
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,296,979
Connecticut
- Annual expenditures: $65,855
- Cost of living index: 113.9
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,107,199
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,329,968
Oregon
- Annual expenditures: $66,317
- Cost of living index: 114.7
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,118,762
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,343,858
Maryland
- Annual expenditures: $66,375
- Cost of living index: 114.8
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,120,208
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,345,595
Vermont
- Annual expenditures: $66,433
- Cost of living index: 114.9
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,121,653
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,347,331
New Hampshire
- Annual expenditures: $66,838
- Cost of living index: 115.6
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,131,771
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,359,485
Washington
- Annual expenditures: $66,895
- Cost of living index: 115.7
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,133,217
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,361,221
Alaska
- Annual expenditures: $73,082
- Cost of living index: 126.4
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,287,880
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,547,003
New York
- Annual expenditures: $73,140
- Cost of living index: 126.5
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,289,325
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,548,739
California
- Annual expenditures: $78,864
- Cost of living index: 136.4
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,432,425
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,720,630
Massachusetts
- Annual expenditures: $85,571
- Cost of living index: 148
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $1,600,097
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $1,922,038
Hawaii
- Annual expenditures: $103,610
- Cost of living index: 179.2
- Minimum needed for 25 years of retirement: $2,051,077
- Minimum needed for 30 years of retirement: $2,463,757
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’ 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey by the cost of living index for each state from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s Q3 2023 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 0.0333%, 0.04% and 0.05% — assuming 20, 25 and 30 years of retirement respectively. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Jan. 8, 2024.