# How Long $500,000 Lasts in Every State (2026 Study)

> A single 67-year-old's $500,000 lasts to 94 in no-tax states and shortly before 92 in Indiana and Oregon. Local prices move it far more: about 87 to past 100.

Source: https://savingslast.com/how-long-500k-lasts-in-every-state/
Updated: 2026-09-23
Author: Muhammad Ejaz
Markdown: https://savingslast.com/how-long-500k-lasts-in-every-state.md
Site: SavingsLast, free retirement drawdown calculators. Educational estimates, not advice.

SavingsLast study · 50 states and DC · tax year 2026

# How long $500,000 lasts in every state

By [Muhammad Ejaz](https://savingslast.com/about/) · Published 23 September 2026

You are 67 and single, with $500,000 in an IRA. Social Security pays you $2,071 a month, the national average, and you spend $4,000 a month after tax. In 26 states that money lasts until 94. In Indiana (with Marion County’s tax) and Oregon, which tax you hardest, it runs out shortly before 92.

That gap of 2 years and 1 month is the most state income tax does to this retiree under each state’s 2026 rules. What things cost where you live does far more. At local prices, the same life runs out at about 87 in Hawaii and lasts past 100 in 19 states.

2.1 yearsThe most state income tax changes the answer for the single 67-year-old.

13+ yearsThe gap once local prices are counted too.

32 of 51States and DC that charge this retiree no state or local income tax in the first year.

$3,916First-year state and county income tax in Maryland for someone who retires at 60, against $0 in 17 states.

### The age the money runs out, state by state

Pick a household. Then choose whether to count state income tax alone, or tax plus what the same lifestyle costs in that state. Tap a state for its numbers.

HouseholdCount

Traditional IRA balance ($)

Spending a month, after tax ($)

Social Security a month ($)

Your age now

Social Security starts at

Household

Return (% a year)

Inflation (% a year)

For a couple, enter your combined Social Security and spending. The balance is taxed as a traditional IRA. A few states, Maryland and Rhode Island among them, treat 401(k) money more kindly, which this does not apply. The calculation runs in your browser with the same rules as the rest of this page.

Money runs out atBefore 8787–8990–9293–9596–99100 or later

Single at 67, state income tax and local prices. Earliest: Hawaii, 86 and 8 months. Latest: 19 states, past 100.

Balance $500,000 in a traditional IRA. Return 5% a year, inflation 2.5%. Federal tax as the law is written for each year; each state’s 2026 rules. Prices: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. [How this was worked out](#method).

## State income tax moves the answer by about two years at most

Take the single 67-year-old. The first year’s withdrawal in a state with no income tax is $23,741. That is $1,978 a month, enough with Social Security to spend $4,000 a month after federal tax.

Most states barely touch that. Of the 51, 32 charge nothing in the first year. Nine of those have no broad income tax. The rest have one, but at this income they exempt the Social Security and carve out enough of the withdrawals to leave nothing to tax. Six of them begin to charge a little in later years, once the federal changes described in the method raise the income they start from. They are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri and Virginia.

The other 19 do tax this retiree. [Oregon](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-oregon/) ($1,188 in the first year), [Indiana](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-indiana/) ($1,124 in the first year, with county tax) and [Massachusetts](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-massachusetts/) ($993 in the first year) charge the most. Every dollar paid in tax has to be withdrawn too, and it stops earning. That is how Oregon’s first-year bill of $1,188 becomes 2 years and 1 month of retirement.

### What state income tax costs, in months of retirement

Single, 67. How much sooner the money runs out than in a state with no income tax.

The other 26 cost this retiree nothing, so they are not drawn. Indiana and Maryland include a county income tax: Marion County’s 2.02% and Montgomery County’s 3.2%. Some Indiana counties charge up to about 3.4%, which would put Indiana alone at the top.

Montana is the odd one. It charges $14 in the first year, yet costs 1 year and 4 months of retirement. It starts from federal taxable income, so it shares the federal $6,000 senior deduction. When that deduction ends after 2028, Montana’s bill jumps to $525 at 70 and keeps rising.

Maryland is the state to watch. Its $1,000 senior tax credit covers tax years only through 2026. This study holds each state’s 2026 rules, so the credit stays on the map. If it lapses as the law now reads, Maryland’s single retiree runs out at 91 and 6 months, earlier than in any other state.

Alaska goes the other way. Every resident gets an annual Permanent Fund Dividend: $1,000 in 2026, plus a one-time $200 energy payment. It is not a tax, so it is not on the map. Counted at $1,000 a year, it carries Alaska’s single retiree to 95 and 6 months. That is 1 year and 6 months longer than any other state on tax alone.

If you have been told to move to a no-tax state to make your money last, that is the honest size of it for this household. It is real money. It is not a decade.

## Counting what the same life costs widens the gap to more than 13 years

The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures how prices differ by state. In California they run 11% above the national average. In Arkansas they run 13% below. Your Social Security check is the same size in both.

So in a cheap state the check covers more of your life, and the IRA covers less. Scale the $4,000 a month to local prices and the ages spread out fast.

### Tax and local prices: the ages spread out

Single, 67. Spends the local equivalent of $4,000 a month. Each dot is a state.

Hover or tap a dot for the state. The table below lists every one.

One warning about this view. BEA prices housing from rents. If you own your home outright, the housing part of the gap does not apply to you, though property tax and insurance still do. How much of the gap is housing varies: in Hawaii, more of it comes from everyday prices than from housing. For an owner, the answer usually falls somewhere between the two maps.

## Three households, three different answers

### Single at 67

Social Security $2,071 a month. Spends $4,000 a month. First-year IRA withdrawal about $23,741 in a no-tax state.

Tax only91–94With prices86–100+

### Couple, both 67

Social Security $3,208 a month between them. Spends $6,000 a month. First-year withdrawal about $33,504.

Tax only83–84With prices80–95

### Retires at 60

Single. Spends $4,000 a month with no Social Security until 67. First-year withdrawal about $52,068.

Tax only73–75With prices71–84

The couple sees the smallest tax gap: 1 year and 2 months. Two people get two sets of deductions and exclusions, and 39 states charge them nothing in the first year. Their money runs out sooner than the single person’s anyway, because $500,000 is carrying two people.

The person who retires at 60 pays the most state tax. There is no Social Security until 67, so withdrawals are larger. Many state exclusions do not start until 62 or 65. Maryland takes $3,916 in the first year, county tax included. Of the 51, 17 take nothing.

Even so, the spread between states is 1 year and 11 months, about the same as for the single 67-year-old. The extra tax falls in the seven years before Social Security, and every household in this scenario runs short soon after.

The harder news in that scenario has nothing to do with states. Drawing $4,339 a month for seven years before Social Security starts leaves about $196,000 in today’s dollars at 67, even in a no-tax state. That is why this household runs out between 73 and 75 on tax alone.

### Look up your state

State

Choose a state, or tap one on the map, to see all six results side by side.

## Every state, sorted

The same numbers as the map, for the household and view picked above. Select a column heading to sort.

Showing: Single at 67, state income tax and local prices.

| State | Runs out at | State tax, year 1 | Withdrawal, year 1 | Prices (US = 100) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Hawaii](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-hawaii/) † | 86 | $617 | $30,508 | 110.0 |
| [Washington, D.C.](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-washington-dc/) † | 86 | $533 | $30,369 | 109.9 |
| [California](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-california/) † | 86 | $75 | $30,285 | 110.7 |
| [New Jersey](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-new-jersey/) | 87 | $0 | $29,008 | 108.8 |
| [Massachusetts](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-massachusetts/) | 88 | $1,177 | $28,640 | 105.8 |
| [New York](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-new-york/) | 88 | $19 | $28,487 | 107.9 |
| [Washington](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-washington/) | 88 | $0 | $27,902 | 107.0 |
| [Maryland](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-maryland/) † | 89 | $635 | $27,451 | 105.0 |
| [Oregon](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-oregon/) † | 89 | $1,342 | $27,374 | 103.4 |
| [New Hampshire](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-new-hampshire/) | 90 | $0 | $26,194 | 104.2 |
| [Connecticut](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-connecticut/) | 91 | $0 | $25,867 | 103.6 |
| [Florida](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-florida/) | 91 | $0 | $25,752 | 103.4 |
| [Colorado](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-colorado/) | 91 | $0 | $25,539 | 103.1 |
| [Rhode Island](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-rhode-island/) | 91 | $339 | $25,501 | 102.3 |
| [Alaska](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-alaska/) | 92 | $0 | $25,131 | 102.4 |
| [Virginia](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-virginia/) | 92 | $39 | $24,440 | 101.1 |
| [Arizona](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-arizona/) † | 93 | $0 | $24,140 | 100.7 |
| [Illinois](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-illinois/) | 94 | $0 | $23,717 | 100.0 |
| [Nevada](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-nevada/) | 94 | $0 | $23,729 | 100.0 |
| [Delaware](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-delaware/) † | 94 | $0 | $23,628 | 99.8 |
| [Minnesota](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-minnesota/) † | 94 | $319 | $23,321 | 98.6 |
| [Utah](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-utah/) † | 94 | $83 | $23,174 | 98.9 |
| [Vermont](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-vermont/) † | 95 | $291 | $22,896 | 98.0 |
| [Pennsylvania](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-pennsylvania/) | 96 | $0 | $22,311 | 97.6 |
| [Maine](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-maine/) † | 96 | $0 | $22,004 | 97.0 |
| [Texas](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-texas/) | 96 | $0 | $22,008 | 97.1 |
| [Georgia](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-georgia/) | 97 | $0 | $21,559 | 96.3 |
| [Michigan](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-michigan/) | 97 | $0 | $21,516 | 96.2 |
| [Montana](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-montana/) † | 98 | $0 | $20,628 | 94.6 |
| [Idaho](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-idaho/) † | 98 | $0 | $21,108 | 95.5 |
| [Indiana](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-indiana/) | 98 | $918 | $20,965 | 93.3 |
| [North Carolina](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-north-carolina/) | 99 | $322 | $20,827 | 94.3 |
| [Alabama](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-alabama/) | 100+ | $341 | $18,124 | 88.8 |
| [Arkansas](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-arkansas/) † | 100+ | $0 | $16,878 | 86.9 |
| [Iowa](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-iowa/) | 100+ | $0 | $17,274 | 87.8 |
| [Kansas](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-kansas/) † | 100+ | $261 | $18,642 | 90.1 |
| [Kentucky](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-kentucky/) | 100+ | $0 | $18,424 | 90.2 |
| [Louisiana](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-louisiana/) † | 100+ | $0 | $17,487 | 88.2 |
| [Mississippi](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-mississippi/) | 100+ | $0 | $16,885 | 87.0 |
| [Missouri](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-missouri/) † | 100+ | $0 | $18,740 | 90.8 |
| [Nebraska](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-nebraska/) † | 100+ | $45 | $18,443 | 90.1 |
| [New Mexico](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-new-mexico/) | 100+ | $0 | $19,410 | 92.2 |
| [North Dakota](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-north-dakota/) | 100+ | $0 | $17,848 | 89.0 |
| [Ohio](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-ohio/) † | 100+ | $0 | $19,680 | 92.8 |
| [Oklahoma](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-oklahoma/) | 100+ | $0 | $17,313 | 87.8 |
| [South Carolina](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-south-carolina/) † | 100+ | $0 | $20,148 | 93.7 |
| [South Dakota](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-south-dakota/) | 100+ | $0 | $17,669 | 88.6 |
| [Tennessee](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-tennessee/) | 100+ | $0 | $19,246 | 91.9 |
| [West Virginia](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-west-virginia/) † | 100+ | $246 | $18,352 | 89.5 |
| [Wisconsin](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-wisconsin/) † | 100+ | $0 | $20,318 | 94.1 |
| [Wyoming](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-in-wyoming/) | 100+ | $0 | $19,640 | 92.7 |

"Runs out at" is the age the balance reaches zero. State tax and withdrawal are the first year’s, in dollars, and include county tax in Indiana and Maryland. A † marks a state where a 2026 figure was not yet published, or comes from a department summary rather than a form. The latest available figure is used. The first-year tax could move by up to about $90. [Download every result as a CSV file](https://savingslast.com/data/state-study-2026.csv).

## Before you move, check five things this map cannot see

- **A pension.** Several states tax a pension very differently from an IRA. Alabama exempts a traditional pension in full, and Hawaii exempts the part your employer funded. Both tax your own 401(k) or IRA money. New York exempts New York state, local and federal government pensions in full, and gives an IRA $20,000 a person from 59½.
- **A 401(k) instead of an IRA.** This study holds the money in an IRA. Rhode Island exempts up to $50,000 a year of 401(k) withdrawals from full retirement age, below an income limit, and nothing from an IRA. Maryland’s pension exclusion covers a 401(k) from 65, reduced by your Social Security, but never an IRA. Rolling a 401(k) into an IRA can cost you in both.
- **Property tax.** It is not in these numbers. On the house you buy, it can cost more each year than a state’s income tax ever would. Check the rate in the county, not the state.
- **What you leave behind.** Some states tax heirs. Pennsylvania charges children 4.5% of what they inherit. Maryland has both an estate tax and an inheritance tax.
- **Local income tax.** Indiana and Maryland counties tax retirement withdrawals; the figures here use Marion County and Montgomery County. New York City, Yonkers and some Ohio school districts add their own tax, which this study leaves out.

## How this was worked out, and how to check it

Each state runs the same retirement, month by month. The balance earns 5% a year, and spending and Social Security both rise 2.5% a year with inflation. Each year the household withdraws exactly enough, after federal and state income tax, to cover its spending. Withdrawals come out monthly, after that month’s growth.

State tax comes from each state’s 2026 rules: rates, deductions, exemptions, credits, and how it treats Social Security and retirement income. The sources are revenue department guidance and enacted legislation. Each state was worked by hand on four test households, and the calculator matches all 204 of those hand calculations to within $3. A married couple’s withdrawals and benefits are split evenly between them.

The figures were then checked against PolicyEngine, an open-source tax model, for every household and state. For six states the research had also drawn on PolicyEngine’s own parameter files, so for those the check is not fully independent. The two agree within $10 a year, or 3%, in about nine checks out of ten. The rest differ for known reasons. A refundable credit is left out here, a county rate differs, PolicyEngine estimates a 2026 figure, or the two read a rule differently. The largest is Louisiana, where this study applies the age-65 exemption to IRA withdrawals, as the state’s own regulation (LAC 61:I.1311) says.

Federal tax follows the law as written for each year. The $6,000 senior deduction ends after 2028. The Social Security thresholds of $25,000 and $34,000 never rise, so a little more of the benefit is taxed each year. Holding federal law at 2026 instead would add at least 2 years and 2 months in every state. Montana would gain most, 3 years and 9 months, because it taxes the same share of Social Security as the federal return. The widest gap between states would be 2 years and 5 months instead of 2 years and 1 month.

Each state’s own rules are held at their 2026 values in today’s dollars: the snapshot this study compares. That flatters states whose exclusions are fixed in dollars, since inflation erodes them. It also leaves out cuts scheduled or triggered after 2026, such as Nebraska’s and Indiana’s, and breaks due to end, such as Maryland’s credit.

What this does not include: property, sales and estate taxes, investment losses, and required minimum distributions above what the household spends. That last one only arises where the money lasts past 100 anyway, so it changes no result on this page. The $4,000 a month is meant to cover everything, Medicare premiums included.

Refundable credits for food and sales tax are left out too, because they exist to offset sales tax, which this study also leaves out. Idaho’s grocery credit is $155 a person, Hawaii’s food and excise credit about $170 for this retiree, and Oklahoma’s sales tax relief credit $40. Counting them would add one to three months in those states. None would catch the states with no income tax.

**Test us.** Take a single 67-year-old with $500,000 in an IRA and $2,071 a month from Social Security. Spending is $4,000 a month after tax. The return is 5% a year and inflation 2.5%, and both spending and Social Security rise with inflation. In Florida the money should run out at 94. In Oregon it should run out at 91 and 11 months. Put the same case through another tool. If the answers differ, check first whether it treats future federal law the same way. If it does and they still differ, one of us is wrong, and it is worth finding out which.

Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities by state, 2024, released 19 February 2026. SSA 2026 cost-of-living fact sheet: average retired worker $2,071 and aged couple $3,208 a month from January 2026. Each state’s revenue department guidance and enacted 2025 and 2026 legislation. Federal tax: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and Pub. L. 119-21. Alaska dividend: Anchorage Daily News, 19 September 2026. Full method: [methodology](https://savingslast.com/methodology/).

## What to do with a number like this

I can show you the arithmetic for three households. What I cannot see from here is yours. How much of your spending is housing? Do you own? What will you leave, and how close do you want to live to family and doctors?

Three questions settle most moves. Does your spending fall because of prices, or only because of tax? Would you sell a house here and buy one there, and what would the property tax be? And is the state you are looking at the one where your grandchildren live? The last one is not on any map.

## Frequently asked questions

**Which state makes $500,000 last the longest in retirement?**

Take a single 67-year-old who spends $4,000 a month. Once local prices are counted, the money lasts past 100 in 19 states. The three with the lowest prices, Arkansas, Mississippi and Iowa, are among them. On state income tax alone, 26 states tie at 94, because they never charge this retiree anything.

**Which states do not tax retirement income?**

Nine states have no broad income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi and Pennsylvania have an income tax but exempt IRA and 401(k) withdrawals in retirement. Several more exclude so much that a typical retiree pays nothing. In this study, 32 states charged the single 67-year-old no state income tax in the first year.

**Which states tax Social Security in 2026?**

Eight: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont. West Virginia exempts it in full from 2026. Most of the eight exempt it below an income threshold, so far fewer retirees pay than the list suggests.

**Is it worth moving to a state with no income tax to retire?**

On income tax alone, the gain is 2 years and 1 month at most for this study’s single retiree. For the couple it is 1 year and 2 months. What housing and everyday prices cost where you move matters far more. A paid-off house you already own changes the answer again.

## Run your own numbers

- [How long will my money last](https://savingslast.com/)
- [Retirement taxes by state](https://savingslast.com/retirement-taxes-by-state/)
- [States that tax Social Security](https://savingslast.com/social-security-taxes-by-state/)
- [How long $500k lasts](https://savingslast.com/how-long-will-500k-last-in-retirement/)

SavingsLast calculators are educational estimates. They assume a constant average return and steady inflation; real markets are volatile and sequence-of-returns risk can shorten how long money lasts. Nothing here is financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions.