How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State

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Stretching your nest egg as far as possible is something that’s most likely front of mind for retirees who aren’t very wealthy. With no new sources of income aside from Social Security or possibly a pension, it’s important to settle in a place to retire that won’t drain your savings.

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However, getting a clear sense of exactly how long your retirement savings will last requires understanding how much it costs to live in the state you’re calling home. As anyone trying to get by somewhere with a high cost of living can attest, even basic necessities can quickly winnow down your retirement account. And it only gets more complicated if you decide you don’t want to spend your entire retirement in the same place, as your costs won’t be consistent throughout your retirement.

That’s why GOBankingRates performed a study to compare the cost of living in every state and determine how long you can survive off of $100,000. Granted, $100,000 won’t buy you a lot of time in any state. But, these results will give you a sense of just how much you need to save.

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51. Hawaii

Annual Expenditure: $95,939.44
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 0 month 13 days

To say that Hawaii is the most expensive state to live in is something of an understatement: Hawaiians pay more than double the national average per year. You’ll need over $2 million to survive retirement in this state — the most in the country.

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50. District of Columbia

Annual Expenditure: $79.358.60
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 3 months 4 days

The District of Columbia holds a special place on this list. Not counted as a state, the area stands as its own district designated by the federal government. The district is $16,000 cheaper than Hawaii but still falls under one of the most expensive places to retire. You’ll need to budget over $25,000 for housing costs in the district.

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49. Massachusetts

Annual Expenditure: $78,055.08
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 3 months 11 days

Massachusetts is not a state that’s kind to your retirement savings, with sky-high housing costs playing the biggest part in making things difficult.

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48. California

Annual Expenditure: $71,746.02
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 4 months 21 days

California’s not an easy place to stretch your retirement dollar, with the cost of housing coming in at more than double the average for the country.

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47. New York

Annual Expenditure: $70,129.65
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 5 months 5 days

Some might gripe that the only thing imperial about the Empire State is how much it costs to live there, with the average New Yorker needing more than $70,000 a year to cover expenses.

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46. Alaska

Annual Expenditure: $66,010.51
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 6 months 4 days

Costs in Alaska are generally high — particularly for healthcare and utilities — but there’s one area where the state won’t eat so far into your nest egg: Alaska is the most tax-friendly state for retirees.

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45. Maryland

Annual Expenditure: $64,654.84
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 6 months 19 days

Maryland is one of the more expensive states for retirees to live in, but a lot of the older residents can afford it: It’s one of the states with the richest retirees.

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44. Oregon

Annual Expenditure: $63,194.89
$100,000 Will Last: 1 years 6 months 30 days

Oregon has a cost of living that’s higher than the country as a whole, particularly in housing, which is almost $7,200 higher than the national average. However, if you’re dead set on enjoying the beautiful coastlines of the Pacific Northwest in your golden years, consider making your home in Brandon. It’s the best city in the state to buy a home.

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43. Connecticut

Annual Expenditure: $60,900.69
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 21 days

Not only is Connecticut one of the pricier states in the country to live in, but for many retirees, the source of their income might not be as stable as they would hope. Connecticut is the worst state for pensions in the U.S.

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41(tie). New Hampshire

Annual Expenditure: $60,535.70
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 24 days

If you’re dead set on living in New Hampshire in retirement but you’re looking to avoid some of those high costs, steer well clear of the 03854 ZIP code — home to New Castle Island. It’s the most expensive ZIP code in the state.

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41(tie). Vermont

Annual Expenditure: $60,431.42
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 24 days

Not only is Vermont a tough place to maintain your nest egg, it’s also a pretty rough spot for building it up as well. The Green Mountain State is the state where it’s hardest to save $1 million for retirement, another GOBankingRates study found.

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40. Maine

Annual Expenditure: $60, 118.57
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 28 days

It’s possible that the high cost of living in Maine has some residents thinking big in terms of what it means to be wealthy. In a GOBankingRates survey, the most common answer for what it meant to be “rich” in Maine was an income of $10 million a year or more, the highest answer for any state.

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39. Washington

Annual Expenditure: $59,545.02
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 8 months 4 days

If you’re surprised to see Washington so far down this list, keep in mind that it’s home to Seattle, one of the most expensive cities in the country. Best to look for more affordable cities.

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38. Rhode Island

Annual Expenditure: $58,867.19
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 8 months 11 days

If you’ve compiled an impressive nest egg over the course of your career, Rhode Island isn’t a great place to keep it protected.

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37. New Jersey

Annual Expenditure: $58,606.48
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 8 months 15 days

Like many of the most expensive states in the country, the main culprit for New Jersey’s high cost of living is housing, with New Jersey residents paying more than $1,300 higher than the average American for a place to live.

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36. Arizona

Annual Expenditure: $55,165.18
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 22 days

Arizona’s costs are a bit higher than the national average in every category except utilities, and healthcare.

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35. Delaware

Annual Expenditure: $55,060.90
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 25 days

Although Delaware might be on the higher side for costs, it can also offer some great ways to protect your nest egg: It’s one of the best states to retire rich in the country.

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33(tie). Colorado

Annual Expenditure: $54,539.49
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 29 days

While your $100,000 will only last just under two years in Colorado, it depends upon which city you land in. If you want to stay in the Rocky Mountain State but don’t like the “mile high” costs in Denver, consider Colorado Springs where it’s over $10,000 a year cheaper.

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33(tie). Montana

Annual Expenditure: $54,643.77
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 29 days

If you were hoping to keep your nest egg healthy after retiring to Montana by investing well, you might find it harder there than elsewhere. Montana is one of the worst states to grow your money, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

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32. Nevada

Annual Expenditure: $53,809.51
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 9 days

If you want to spend your golden years in the Silver State, prepare to spend a little more. Costs are at least 10% higher than the national average across every category except for utilities, where they’re actually 20% under what the rest of America pays.

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29(tie). Virginia

Annual Expenditure: $53,600.95
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 13 days

You’ll pay less for groceries, utilities and transportation than the average American if you opt to retire to Virginia, but there’s clearly more to the story. That would be the cost of housing, which is over $1,100 higher than the national average.

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29(tie). Florida

Annual Expenditure: $53,600.95
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 13 days

Florida might only be middle-of-the-pack for stretching a six-figure retirement fund, but it’s still a popular destination for many retirees. And you have plenty of options to choose from in terms of which Florida city stacks up the best for you.

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29(tie). Utah

Annual Expenditure: $53,600.95
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 13 days

Regardless of how long it lasts, Utah is doing plenty to help you build that retirement account. It’s the state where it’s easiest to save $1 million for retirement.

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28. Idaho

Annual Expenditure: $51,932.44
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 4 days

Idaho’s scenic landscape could be considered incentive enough to retire there, but the state’s low costs are an additional perk.

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27. Pennsylvania

Annual Expenditure: $51,202.46
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 12 days

In Pennsylvania, housing costs are just a couple of hundred dollars below the national average. However, if you’re looking to stretch your retirement savings as far as possible, you can still do better, especially when Pennsylvanians pay more than average for groceries, utilities and transportation.

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26. Minnesota

Annual Expenditure: $50,837.48
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 19 days

In Minnesota, it costs about the same as the national average to live here. That’s not true statewide, though, as Minneapolis is among the more expensive major cities in the country.

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25. North Dakota

Annual Expenditure: $50,628.91
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 23 days

One place you probably won’t overspend in North Dakota is on housing. You can expect to pay less than $9,500 per year.

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24. North Carolina

Annual Expenditure: $49,898.94
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 30 days

If you’re looking for a place to live in retirement where you’re not in the hustle and bustle of the city but also still close enough to take advantage of city living on occasion, North Carolina might be the place to look. Three of the best suburbs for retirement are in the Tarheel State: Bermuda Run, Fairfield Harbour and Sunset Beach.

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23. Wisconsin

Annual Expenditure: $49,794.66
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 3 days

You can make $100,000 last over two years in retirement if you’re living in the Badger State. And your annual housing costs are lower than the national average, as well.

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22. Kentucky

Annual Expenditure: $49,481.81
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 6 days

Kentucky’s biggest cost advantage over other states is in its housing, where you’ll pay almost $2,000 less than the national average.

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20(tie). South Dakota

Annual Expenditure: $49,273.25
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 10 days

There’s one thing you don’t have to worry about in South Dakota: state income tax. That’s because it’s one of the seven states without any, which could make a significant difference in how long you can stretch that nest egg.

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20(tie). South Carolina

Annual Expenditure: $49,168.96
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 10 days

The question of how long $100,000 lasts in retirement might be especially apt for South Carolina. A GOBankingRates survey determined that most residents of the Palmetto State have about $50,000-$100,000 saved for retirement.

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19. New Mexico

Annual Expenditure: $49,012.54
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 14 days

If you enjoy life in the big city but can’t handle the high cost of living that usually comes with it, New Mexico might offer you the best compromise. .

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18. Louisiana

Annual Expenditure: $48,803.98
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 17 days

Not only is Louisiana among the better states for stretching your savings in retirement, it’s also the best state to grow your money, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

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15(tie). Illinois

Annual Expenditure: $48,282.57
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 25 days

In Illinois, you can stretch $100K to a bit more than two years. And if you decide you want to make the Windy City your home, you’ll have plenty of options in selecting from the many different suburbs around the city.

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15(tie). Texas

Annual Expenditure: $48,230.43
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 25 days

Texas offers a range of advantages to its elderly residents when it comes to stretching retirement dollars.

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15. (tie) Wyoming

Annual Expenditure: $48,230.43
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 25 days

The cost of living in Wyoming is lower than it is for the country as a whole.

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14. Michigan

Annual Expenditure: $48,074
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 28 days

The Great Lake State is as welcoming as it is scenic, and the low costs mean you can enjoy more of it with your nest egg.

12(tie). Nebraska

Annual Expenditure: $47,917.58
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 1 day

Nebraska’s cost-of-living scores are either at or below the national average in every category except for transportation. However, at least some of the money you can save on things like groceries and housing will end up with the state government: Nebraska is the least tax-friendly state for retirees.

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12(tie). Ohio

Annual Expenditure: $47,917.58
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 1 day

Housing is especially affordable in Ohio, coming in at almost $2,400 less than what the average American is paying. Add that to costs that are either below average or less than 2% over it, and it’s not hard to see why Ohio cracked the top 20 in this study.

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11. Arkansas

Annual Expenditure: $47,239.75
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 12 days

The cost of a comfortable retirement in Arkansas is very low, coming in below any other state in the country save for Mississippi and its incredibly low cost of living.

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8(tie). Tennessee

Annual Expenditure: $47,031.18
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 15 days

Whether it’s the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville or Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee is a great state for American music. Of course, if you’re retired and living there, it’s the low costs that might be music to your ears.

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8(tie). West Virginia

Annual Expenditure: $46,926.90
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 15 days

West Virginians are paying less for housing and utilities than most Americans, but that’s counter-balanced by higher-than-average costs on groceries and “miscellaneous” expenses.

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8(tie). Indiana

Annual Expenditure: $46,874.76
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 15 days

Indiana offers retirees the chance to stretch their savings much further than most of the country; this is important to the Hoosier State, as Indiana is the state with the poorest retirees in the country.

6(tie). Iowa

Annual Expenditure: $46,509.77
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 23 days

Like many states in the Midwest, Iowa boasts low housing costs that help push the overall cost of living down significantly. However, while it’s housing leading the charge, Iowa’s costs are below what the average American pays across the board.

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6(tie). Missouri

Annual Expenditure: $46,457.63
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 23 days

Although most costs are lower in Missouri, the Show-Me State is especially affordable when it comes to housing. A year of a roof over your head costs an average of just $8,299.21, making it one of just twenty states where you can expect to pay under $9,000 per annum.

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5. Georgia

Annual Expenditure: $46,196.93
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 26 days

Low costs in Georgia mean a retiree can make $100,000 last them for two years and one month. Even if you’re living well by saving on basic costs, though, not everyone is in the same situation: Atlanta is among the places in the U.S. with the most income inequality.

4. Alabama

Annual Expenditure: $45,936.22
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 2 months 6 days

You can expect to stretch your retirement savings by retiring almost anywhere in the Yellow Hammer State, but that’s especially true if you decide to call the city of Birmingham home: It’s one of the cheapest places to retire in the entire country.

3. Kansas

Annual Expenditure: $45,623.38
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 2 months 9 days

Kansas is a great state to retire to if you want to stretch your nest egg as far as possible, and it’s even better if you’re living off of a pension funded by the state: Kansas is one of the best states for pensions.

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2. Oklahoma

Annual Expenditure: $44,736.98
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 2 months 28 days

Oklahoma has low costs statewide that will help you stretch $100,000 for a full two and a half years.

1. Mississippi

Annual Expenditure: $44,319.85
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 3 months 4 days

No state has a lower cost for a comfortable retirement than Mississippi, where you can expect to pay almost $3,400 less for housing than the country as a whole. All told, the cumulative cost of living in Mississippi is almost $8,000 lower than the national average.

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States on either coast might offer a lot in terms of great weather and loads of culture, but they certainly ask a lot in terms of your pocketbook. The 15 states where $100,000 stretches the least in retirement include five states on the Pacific Ocean (Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska). On the East Coast, the worst states for your retirement nest egg are New York, Maryland, District of Columbia and all six of the states that make up New England.

On the other end of the list, it’s hard to miss that states from the South and the Midwest have the lowest costs by far. Of the 15 states where your $100,000 in retirement savings goes the furthest, all but one (Wyoming) are in one of those two regions.

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Jordan Rosenfeld and Amen Oyiboke-Osifo contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: In order to find how long $100,000 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’ 2021 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 2022 from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Finally, GOBankingRates found (3) how many years $100,000 will last in each state by dividing $100,000 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 $100,000 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 February 21, 2023.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State