What It Takes to Fund One Social Security Check in Every State

You’ve seen Social Security deducted from your paycheck every two weeks for decades as you wait for a sweet payout in retirement. But how many paycheck deductions does it actually take to fund a single Social Security check? The answer is a lot higher than you think, and it varies widely by state.

Click through to get a better idea of just how much — or how little — Social Security is really worth.

How Many Paychecks It Takes

To determine how many paycheck deductions it takes to fund one Social Security check in each state, GOBankingRates pulled the median income by state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and divided that number by 26 to calculate one biweekly paycheck amount. Then, GOBankingRates determined the Social Security employee deduction per paycheck based on the current Social Security tax rate of 6.2 percent, according to the IRS. Employers also contribute 6.2 percent for a total of 12.4 percent; however, GOBankingRates calculated these figures using only employee deductions to show just how much of your money it takes to qualify for Social Security.

Then, we divided the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired person ($1,369, according to the Social Security Administration) by the average deduction for each state to calculate just how many paycheck deductions it takes to fund one Social Security payout depending on where you live. If you factor in employer contributions, the number of paychecks it takes the fund a month of Social Security can be halved.

On average, it takes 10.73 employee paycheck deductions to fund a single Social Security monthly benefit. Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia are among the states that have the highest number of paychecks funding a month of Social Security, whereas New Jersey, Alaska and Maryland are the lowest.

Read on to learn how many paychecks it takes to fund a month of Social Security in each state, and where you can find the best places to live on only a Social Security check.

Comparing Costs State by State

Now you have an idea of how much hard work it took during your glory days to fund a month in retirement if you rely solely on Social Security — but most retirees don’t. In fact, Social Security is only meant to replace approximately 40 percent of your income from when you were working, according to the Social Security Administration. To survive retirement, investments made in your 401k account, IRA or other savings vehicle are critical to keeping you comfortable in retirement.

Social Security can’t fund your entire retirement, but with these insights, you can see how many hard-working days fund one monthly benefit check.

Click through to find out the smart ways to spend your Social Security check.

Alabama

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,721
Social Security Deduction: $107
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 12.83

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Alaska

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,863
Social Security Deduction: $178
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 7.71

Arizona

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,975
Social Security Deduction: $122
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.18

Arkansas

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,628
Social Security Deduction: $101
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 13.56

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California

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,453
Social Security Deduction: $152
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9

Colorado

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,405
Social Security Deduction: $149
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.18

Connecticut

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,760
Social Security Deduction: $171
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 8

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Delaware

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,347
Social Security Deduction: $146
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.41

Florida

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,881
Social Security Deduction: $117
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.74

Georgia

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,963
Social Security Deduction: $122
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.25

Hawaii

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,768
Social Security Deduction: $172
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 7.98

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Idaho

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,891
Social Security Deduction: $117
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.67

Illinois

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,277
Social Security Deduction: $141
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.7

Indiana

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,940
Social Security Deduction: $120
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.38

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Iowa

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,099
Social Security Deduction: $130
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.52

Kansas

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,060
Social Security Deduction: $128
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.72

Kentucky

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,724
Social Security Deduction: $107
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 12.81

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Louisana

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,756
Social Security Deduction: $109
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 12.58

Maine

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,955
Social Security Deduction: $121
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.3

Maryland

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,926
Social Security Deduction: $181
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 7.55

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Massachusetts

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,729
Social Security Deduction: $169
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 8.09

Michigan

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,954
Social Security Deduction: $121
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.3

Minnesota

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,431
Social Security Deduction: $151
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.08

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Mississippi

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,559
Social Security Deduction: $97
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 14.17

Missouri

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,907
Social Security Deduction: $118
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.58

Montana

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,861
Social Security Deduction: $115
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.87

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Nebraska

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,092
Social Security Deduction: $130
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.56

Nevada

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,042
Social Security Deduction: $127
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.81

New Hampshire

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,634
Social Security Deduction: $163
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 8.38

New Jersey

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,835
Social Security Deduction: $176
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 7.79

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New Mexico

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,757
Social Security Deduction: $109
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 12.57

New York

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,336
Social Security Deduction: $145
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.45

North Carolina

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,856
Social Security Deduction: $115
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.9

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North Dakota

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,274
Social Security Deduction: $141
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.71

Ohio

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,949
Social Security Deduction: $121
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.33

Oklahoma

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,848
Social Security Deduction: $115
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.95

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Oregon

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,049
Social Security Deduction: $127
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.78

Pennsylvania

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,111
Social Security Deduction: $131
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.46

Rhode Island

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,246
Social Security Deduction: $139
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.83

South Carolina

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,804
Social Security Deduction: $112
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 12.24

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South Dakota

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,003
Social Security Deduction: $124
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 11.02

Tennesee

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,791
Social Security Deduction: $111
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 12.33

Texas

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,105
Social Security Deduction: $131
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.49

Utah

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,405
Social Security Deduction: $149
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.18

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Vermont

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,158
Social Security Deduction: $134
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.23

Virginia

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,544
Social Security Deduction: $158
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 8.68

Washington

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,417
Social Security Deduction: $150
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.13

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West Virginia

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $1,640
Social Security Deduction: $102
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 13.46

Wisconsin

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,100
Social Security Deduction: $130
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 10.51

Wyoming

Median Biweekly Paycheck: $2,275
Social Security Deduction: $141
Paychecks to Fund One Month of Social Security: 9.71

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About the Author

Laira Martin

Laira joined GOBankingRates in 2016, where she creates branded content top-tier banks. Her writing has appeared in FLAUNT and Thought Catalog, the latter of which has been taught in college classrooms and cited in academic papers.

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