What does retirement actually cost in each state?

By Muhammad Ejaz·Finance content creator·5 October 2026

You are 67, you rent, and Social Security pays you $2,071 a month. A household that spends like the average one aged 65 to 74 pays $47,129 a year in Iowa. The same household pays $70,914 in Hawaii. That is $3,927 a month against $5,909.

Retirement costs between $33,687 and $70,914 a year for the five households

The model prices five households. Each is a stated set of facts, and the model prices only those facts. The table gives the cheapest and the dearest state for each, across the 50 states and DC.

Arkansas is cheapest for the couple at 65, the couple at 62 and the widow or widower. Iowa is cheapest for the renter. New Jersey is dearest for the couple at 65 and for the widow or widower. For the snowbird couple, the second house is cheapest to hold in West Virginia and dearest in New Jersey.

Each total is living costs plus health premiums plus income tax. For the snowbird couple it also includes the second house's property tax and insurance. Every figure comes from official files and one model. The methodology page lists each source.

Read the section for the household closest to yours.

Rent decides the bill for a single renter at 67

You rent, and rent is the first bill of the month. The model charges the state's median gross rent, which includes the utilities a renter pays. Everything else is the national average spending of households aged 65 to 74, scaled by each state's price level. Premiums and tax come from the same engine as the state study.

Housing is the largest line for the renter in 50 of the 51 places, and West Virginia is the exception. It is 22% to 35% of the total. Median gross rent is $972 a month in Iowa and $1,971 in Hawaii.

Housing is $11,988 of the $23,785 gap between the two states. That is 50%. The other half comes from the prices of food, goods and services, and from tax.

Social Security covers 53% of the bill in Iowa and 35% in Hawaii. The rest must come from savings or other income. That is $22,277 a year in Iowa and $46,062 in Hawaii. That is $1,856 a month against $3,838. The model counts the tax on that withdrawal.

Medicare costs the renter $2,849 a year in every state, or $237.40 a month. That is Part B and a typical Part D plan. Federal income tax runs from $322 to $4,916, because the withdrawal is larger where costs are higher. State income tax is zero in 26 of the 51 places.

Dollars: rent and spending are 2024, and premiums and tax rules are 2026. Nothing is inflated between them. The CPI rose 6.8% from its 2024 average to August 2026 (BLS, CPI-U). The BLS spending figure averages one-person and larger households aged 65 to 74. The BLS tables that split them are not in the model yet.

A paid-off house costs a couple at 65 between $5,244 and $14,784 a year

You are 65 and married. You own your house outright. Your two Social Security checks pay $3,208 a month together, or $38,496 a year. The model prices that couple two ways in every state: living in the house, and renting.

Living in the house costs $43,362 a year in Arkansas and $58,184 in New Jersey. That is $3,614 a month against $4,849. The housing figure is the Census median monthly owner cost without a mortgage. It already contains real estate tax, insurance, utilities and fuel.

Owning outright costs less than renting in all 50 places the model computes. The difference runs from $3,948 a year in South Dakota to $15,398 in Hawaii. Upkeep is not in the owner figure or in the model. Neither is any return on the money tied up in the house.

This income owes no federal income tax in any state.

State income tax appears in only two: Indiana at $74 and Massachusetts at $238. The state tax rules are on their own page. Wisconsin is not computed, because one of its low-income rules is not modeled.

A couple at 62 pays $2,634 to $5,232 a year for health coverage before Medicare

You are 62, married, and no longer working. You have $500,000 saved. You claim Social Security at 67, so savings pay the bills until then. Medicare starts at 65, which leaves three years on a marketplace plan.

The model prices the year at 62. The cost runs from $41,316 in Arkansas to $57,480 in New York. That is $3,443 a month against $4,790. The state study runs the same savings month by month. The guide on when to take Social Security covers the claiming age.

The couple buys its state's benchmark plan and receives the premium tax credit. Below the credit's income limit, the premium is a share of income and not the price of the plan. Health coverage costs $2,634 to $5,232 a year. That is $220 to $436 a month. Federal income tax runs from $912 to $2,538.

Ten places are not computed. Nine states add their own premium help: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington. The tenth, Minnesota, runs a Basic Health Program in this income range. The model does not have those rules yet.

A couple moving to a warm state pays $43,362 to $49,522 a year

No official source measures beaches by state. This section uses NOAA's cooling degree days instead. It takes the twelve states with the most, from Florida at 3,581 to North Carolina at 1,470. The couple is the one at 65, in a paid-off house.

Winter is the other half of the choice. In January these twelve average 33°F in Nevada and 58°F in Florida (NOAA, 1991–2020).

January average: NOAA, 1991–2020. Median value and tax: Census ACS 2020–2024. Premium: NAIC 2023, HO-3 policy. Electric bill: EIA, 2025, average residential customer. Cost: the couple at 65.

In 7 of the twelve, the average homeowners premium is higher than the median property tax. They are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Flood and hurricane risk is not in the model yet. The FEMA table that measures it by state has not been added.

A second house adds $1,870 to $10,864 a year to a snowbird couple's bill

You are 65 and you live in Florida. Florida is your domicile, the state you treat as your permanent home. You also own a paid-off second house in another state and spend part of the year there.

Florida taxes none of the couple's retirement income, and the model finds no federal income tax either. Its Florida year costs $49,522, the same as the couple at 65 in Florida above. The second house adds its property tax and its insurance. That is $1,870 a year in West Virginia and $10,864 in New Jersey.

The whole year costs $51,392 with a house in West Virginia and $60,386 with one in New Jersey. That is $4,283 a month against $5,032.

Property tax is the median paid on a house with no mortgage in that state (Census ACS 2020–2024). Insurance is NAIC's average HO-3 premium for the state (2023). The total is a floor. The model leaves out the second house's utilities and upkeep, and the trips between the two homes.

The day count costs this couple nothing in 47 of 50 places

A second state may count the couple as a resident. It would then tax all of the couple's income. The model asks what that would cost. At this income it costs $0 in 47 of the 50 places. It costs $300 in Indiana, with the Marion County rate the engine assumes, and $41 in Massachusetts. Wisconsin is not computed, because one of its low-income rules is not modeled.

The couple's income is $38,496 of Social Security plus a withdrawal of $11,026. A larger withdrawal changes the answer, and the state study shows how much it changes by state.

The test itself differs by state. Five states count a person as a resident if the person keeps a home there and spends more than 183 days there: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Minnesota counts 183 days or more.

The other five states differ. Michigan uses 183 days. California presumes residence after nine months. Illinois and Wisconsin look at domicile, the place a person intends to return to, and the publications read give no day count. Ohio looks at domicile, and a person can show nonresidency with 212 contact periods or fewer and no claim to the Ohio homestead exemption.

A couple whose domicile is in the north and whose second house is in the south faces the other side. Winter states treat a second home differently from a primary home. South Carolina assesses a legal residence at 4% of value and a second home at 6%. Texas gives its homestead exemptions only to a principal residence. In Florida a second home gets no homestead exemption, and its assessment can rise 10% a year, against 3% or inflation for a homestead.

The model does not price that arrangement. The tables give each rule as the state's own page states it, read from search extracts, so check the page before relying on one.

A widow or widower at 80 pays $33,687 to $47,703 a year at home

You are 80 and live alone. You own your house outright. Social Security pays you $1,919 a month, or $23,028 a year. That is the average for an aged widow or widower alone (SSA, January 2026).

The model prices the year at home: $33,687 in Arkansas and $47,703 in New Jersey. That is $2,807 a month against $3,975. Spending is the national average for households aged 75 and over. That is $55,834 a year, against $65,354 for ages 65 to 74.

Social Security covers 68% of the bill in Arkansas and 48% in New Jersey. Housing is $9,540 of the $14,015 gap, or 68%. Income tax is zero in 39 of the 51 places.

The model leaves out help at home. No official source prices care at home or in a facility by state. The page prints no figure and says so: not measured. The measures that bear on aging in place are in the section on what money does not buy.

Property tax runs from 0.27% to 2.11% of a home's value

In Hawaii the median owner pays 0.27% of the home's value a year. In New Jersey the median owner pays 2.11% (Census ACS 2020–2024). For a home with no mortgage, the median tax is $612 a year in Alabama and $9,313 in New Jersey.

Older owners may pay less. The next section lists the programs, and the figures here describe an owner of any age.

Most states cut the property tax for older owners, and the model counts none of it

The model prices a median owner of any age. Programs for older owners can lower that bill for owners who qualify. In 49 of the 51 places the sources read show at least one. Maryland and Vermont have credits that are not tied to age.

By kind, 27 states exempt part of the value. Credits or rebates are in 20, freezes of the assessment or the tax in 16, and deferrals in 12. Many states have more than one kind.

Seven states give owners 65 or older a break with no income test: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Kentucky, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming. Alabama's covers only the state's share of the tax. Colorado asks for 10 years in the home, and Wyoming for 25 years of paying tax there.

Ten places leave part of it to counties and towns: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia. Florida, New Hampshire and Virginia leave all of it to them. Most programs are limited by income as well as age, and the limits change every year.

The model prices none of these programs, because each depends on age, on income and often on the county. The list below gives what each state's own page says, with the year of the figures and a link. It was read from search extracts of those pages, so check the page before relying on a figure.

Sales tax reaches 10.11% in Louisiana and the model does not add it

That is the highest combined rate (Tax Foundation, 1 January 2026). A combined rate is the state rate plus the average local rate. Tennessee is next at 9.61%, then Washington at 9.51%. Four states charge none: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon.

The model leaves sales tax out of the total. BEA builds its price levels from the BLS Consumer Price Index survey and the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. BLS says the CPI price is typically the consumer's out-of-pocket price, including sales and excise taxes (Handbook of Methods, CPI concepts).

BEA's methodology does not say whether its levels include the tax. Adding it again could count it twice. The model shows the rate and adds nothing.

Homeowners insurance costs more than property tax in 10 states

The average premium beats the median tax there. The widest gap is in Louisiana: $3,027 against $1,180, or 2.6 times. The narrowest is in Florida, by $49.

California and Texas are not on the list. California's average premium is $1,655 against a $5,124 tax. Texas's is $2,864 against $4,232.

Premium: NAIC homeowners report, HO-3 policy, average over all coverage amounts, data for 2023. Tax: Census ACS 2020–2024, median real estate tax paid. An average premium mixes house sizes. The report covers 2023, so it does not show later increases. Flood and earthquake cover are in neither figure.

Medicare costs the same everywhere, and Medicare Advantage averages $0 to $73.51 a month

The model prices Original Medicare for each person. Part B is $202.90 a month and a typical Part D plan is $34.50. That is $2,849 a year, the same in every state.

The average Medicare Advantage premium for 2026 runs from $0 in Vermont to $73.51 in North Dakota. The median state is $15.11 (CMS). In 38 states every resident can choose a plan with a $0 premium. A premium is not the whole cost, because copays and deductibles are separate.

Premiums for Medigap, the supplement that goes with Original Medicare, are not in any official file by state. The model prices none.

Electricity and car insurance matter less than housing

The average electric bill runs from $99 a month in New Mexico to $207 in Hawaii. That is the average residential customer (EIA, 2025). The gap is $1,305 a year. The renter's housing gap is $11,988.

The bill covers electricity only, so cold states look cheaper than they are. The model adds no separate line, because rent and the Census owner cost already include utilities.

Insurers spent an average of $808 a year per insured vehicle in North Dakota and $1,865 in Florida (NAIC, 2023). That is $1,057 apart. NAIC itself says direct comparisons between states deserve a high degree of caution. The model uses only each state's difference from the US average.

Money does not buy family nearby, good weather or a short drive to a hospital

These decide where people stay, and the budget does not show them. Some have an official state measure and some do not. The table says which.

Winter is the plainest difference. January averages 4°F in Alaska and 58°F in Florida (NOAA, 1991–2020). Neighbors of your own age live in every state, in different numbers. People 65 and over are 11.9% of residents in Utah and 22.4% in Maine (Census ACS 2020–2024).

Life expectancy describes the people who live in a state. It does not say what moving there would change. Living alone describes households. It does not say whether family is close.

The hospital measures are not a measure of distance, which CMS does not publish by state. A star rating describes a hospital, not how far away it is. North Dakota has 37 critical access hospitals among its 47. That is the CMS category for small rural ones. New Jersey has none.

The model leaves out seven costs, and this page says which

• Sales tax. The page shows the rate and adds no dollars, for the reason given above.
• Home upkeep. The Census owner cost does not include repairs, and the model adds none.
• Phone and internet. The model has no figure for them.
• Senior property tax relief. The programs are listed above and not priced, because each depends on age, income and often the county.
• Local income tax. The model counts county tax in Indiana (Marion County, 2.02%) and Maryland (Montgomery County, 3.2%). Local taxes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Michigan do not reach retirement income. New York City's resident tax (3.078% to 3.876%) and Yonkers's surcharge (16.75% of the state tax) are not included.
• Second-house running costs. The snowbird couple's second house carries its property tax and insurance. Its utilities, its upkeep, the trips between the homes and a northern domicile with a winter home are not priced.
• Long-term care. No official source prices it by state, and the model prints no figure.

Each of these is a state-by-state job: the revenue department or the statute, each one logged. When one is confirmed, the model and this page change together.

Three questions settle where to live

1. Which bill moves most? Housing moves most from state to state for the renter, the owner and the widow or widower. It is 50%, 64% and 68% of the gap. Price rent or owner cost first, and then insurance.
2. Do you need health coverage before 65? If you do, the number to know is $84,600 for a couple. The credit applies only when household income equals or exceeds 100 percent but does not exceed 400 percent of the poverty line (26 U.S.C. 36B(c)(1)(A)). The 2025 guideline for two people is $21,150 (HHS, 90 FR 5917). For 2026 coverage, 400% of it is $84,600. At that income the credit leaves a premium of $8,426, which is 9.96% of income (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25, section 3.01). One dollar more ends the credit. In Wyoming the benchmark plan for two people aged 62 costs $58,809 a year. The step is $50,383.
3. Who would you call on a bad day, and how far away do they live? No table above measures that.

Before you decide, write down three numbers for each state you are weighing. They are the rent or owner cost, a quote for homeowners insurance, and the premium for your own coverage. Your quotes decide. The averages here show where to look.

This page shows what the model produces for stated households. It is not advice about your situation, because I do not know your situation. The model is a first version. It prices one household a year at a time. It leaves out the seven costs above.

Printed from https://savingslast.com/retirement-cost-of-living-by-state/ on . The figures reflect the inputs shown and the rules as published on that date.