How Long $500K Will Last in Retirement in Each State
When pondering the question, "How much do I need to retire?" there is never a one-size-fits-all answer. What one person could happily live on, another might be dissatisfied with. Although conventional wisdom suggests having a retirement nest egg of at least $1 million, that's a difficult number to achieve for many Americans.
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To paint a more realistic picture of retirement finances, GOBankingRates determined how long $500,000 will last in every state. To do this, the study analyzed average spending data — including groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care — for people ages 65 and older.
Get a clear idea of the cost of living across America.
Last updated: May 12, 2021
Hawaii
$500,000 will last: 5 years, 0 months and 4 days
See: How Long $1 Million in Savings Will Last in Each State
New York
$500,000 will last: 6 years, 9 months and 15 days
Read: Savings Tricks From Regular People Who Are Sitting on Millions
California
$500,000 will last: 6 years, 11 months and 27 days
Find Out: How One Man Saved $1 Million in 5 Years
Oregon
$500,000 will last: 7 years, 5 months and 11 days
Massachusetts
$500,000 will last: 7 years, 7 months and 30 days
Alaska
$500,000 will last: 7 years, 9 months and 26 days
Maryland
$500,000 will last: 7 years, 9 months and 28 days
Connecticut
$500,000 will last: 8 years, 1 month and 3 days
Rhode Island
$500,000 will last: 8 years, 3 months and 27 days
New Jersey
$500,000 will last: 8 years, 6 months and 9 days
Vermont
$500,000 will last: 8 years, 6 months and 20 days
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Maine
$500,000 will last: 8 years, 6 months and 28 days
Washington
$500,000 will last: 8 years, 9 months and 22 days
Nevada
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 1 month and 23 days
New Hampshire
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 2 months and 7 days
Delaware
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 2 months and 29 days
Colorado
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 6 months and 20 days
Pennsylvania
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 6 months and 27 days
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Virginia
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 9 months and 21 days
Arizona
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 9 months and 28 days
Minnesota
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 10 months and 19 days
Find Out: How Much You Should Have in a Retirement Fund at Every Age
South Dakota
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 11 months and 21 days
Florida
$500,000 will last: 9 years, 11 months and 21 days
Montana
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 0 months and 5 days
Utah
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 2 months and 2 days
North Dakota
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 3 months and 25 days
Wisconsin
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 4 months and 11 days
North Carolina
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 4 months and 11 days
South Carolina
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 4 months and 18 days
Illinois
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 5 months and 23 days
Read: This Is What a Comfortable Retirement Will Cost in Your State
Wyoming
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 6 months and 22 days
Idaho
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 7 months and 7 days
Kentucky
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 7 months and 20 days
Louisiana
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 8 months and 5 days
Nebraska
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 8 months and 14 days
West Virginia
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 8 months and 26 days
Ohio
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 9 months and 18 days
Texas
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 9 months and 26 days
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Iowa
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 10 months and 26 days
Michigan
$500,000 will last: 10 years, 11 months and 26 days
Indiana
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 0 months and 31 days
Georgia
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 1 month and 5 days
Tennessee
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 1 month and 5 days
New Mexico
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 1 month and 23 days
Alabama
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 1 month and 27 days
Missouri
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 2 months and 4 days
Arkansas
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 3 months and 19 days
Oklahoma
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 5 months and 1 day
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Kansas
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 5 months and 20 days
Mississippi
$500,000 will last: 11 years, 9 months and 12 days
How Long Will a $500K Retirement Nest Egg Last?
When you're trying to gauge how long $500,000 will last you, where you choose to live is crucial due to the difference in cost-of-living expenses across the nation.
For example, as far as location goes, Mississippi ranks as the top choice for making $500,000 last as long as possible. According to the data, however, $500,000 in Mississippi will last only about three months longer than it would in Kansas, which is the second-best place to retire with $500,000.
If Hawaii, California or New York are your dream retirement destinations, $500,000 won't last nearly as long. These states are considered some of the worst choices to retire in with that size of a nest egg as savings. For example, if you were to move to Hawaii instead of Mississippi, you would get nearly seven fewer years, on average, out of your retirement savings.
But location isn't the only thing to consider. You also need to decide how you'll spend your money, and weigh that against the average cost-of-living expenses in your chosen state. Perhaps you plan on sharing a home with someone else who can afford to pay half of the expenses. Or maybe transportation costs aren't an issue for you because you plan to use a free or low-cost transit system.
Whatever the case, to make your $500,000 nest egg go the distance, it's important to choose a retirement destination that will best serve your specific needs at the most affordable cost.
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Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology:To find how long $500,000 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' 2019 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 2020 from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Finally, GOBankingRates found (3) how many years $500,000 will last in each state by dividing $500,000 by each state's average annual expenditures estimate. All 50 states were then ranked with No. 1 being the state where $500,000 will last the longest and No. 50 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 health care 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 April 28, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Long $500K Will Last in Retirement in Each State
