You've Been Warned: Retiring In This State Could Cost You

Planning for retirement today can be overwhelming. Between how much Americans think they need to retire comfortably to considerations over when, exactly, you should start collecting Social Security benefits, there's a lot to consider. According to a 2025 Financial Security Trends survey from AARP, 64% of respondents reported being worried about having enough money in retirement to be financially secure (while one in five over the age of 30 reported having no retirement savings at all).

While saving for retirement can be difficult, especially in the face of inflation and increasing prices, there are things you can consider ahead of time to better prepare you for your lifestyle after retirement. Perhaps one of the biggest considerations you should factor in is where you will live. While you might have originally planned on staying in whatever state you worked in, housing and cost-of-living increases could make it worth considering a move.

According to a 2025 GOBankingRates analysis of data from the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, retirees would need at least $1 million (or more) to retire in 15 different states across the U.S. From your average annual expenditure to the cost-of-living index, where you choose to retire can have serious financial ramifications for your retirement lifestyle. One particularly financially difficult place to retire in? New York.

While New York isn't technically the most expensive state to retire in (that honor belongs to Hawaii), it's still one of the top-five most expensive states to consider for retirement. This is largely due to the annual anticipated cost of living in New York: $74,147. Not only is this annual expenditure more than the median annual salary in the U.S. (which was $63,128 as of Q3 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), but it is almost as much as the annual salary in New York state in 2024 ($85,820, per the U.S. Census). With this in mind, according to GOBankingRates, retirees would need to have at least $1.29 million saved for retirement, however $1 million in retirement savings is estimated to only last a retiree about 20 years.

One significant reason for New York's high retirement savings requirements is its cost of living. According to GOBankingRates, as of 2024, the average annual housing cost in New York state was $20,694.84. Meanwhile the average annual cost of utilities was $4,363.08, while the average cost of groceries was $4,993.68. This doesn't even factor in other high-price categories like health care, which can be especially important among retirees (the average annual cost of which amounts to over $8,000). While Social Security benefits (and annual cost-of-living adjustments, which Social Security officially announced as 2.8% for 2026) can help to mitigate some of these expenses, it still leaves a heavy financial burden on retirees who might choose to live in New York.

While some states might seem like beautiful or convenient retirement options, it's important to remember that New York isn't alone in being a financially difficult choice. Other states that require the most retirement savings include Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, and Alaska. While all of these states require over $1 million in retirement savings in order to live comfortably, Hawaii is the only one that requires over $2 million. In fact, according to GOBankingRates data, you should plan on having at least $2.2 million to retire comfortably.

On the flip side, a 2025 GOBankingRate's analysis suggests the most affordable states to retire in are West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. However, when looking only at affordability (per the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center's cost-of-living index for Q3 2025), Oklahoma (84.4), Mississippi (85.5), and Alabama (87.9) topped the list. To further complicate the debate the Institute for Financial Wellness (IFW), which also looked at tax-friendliness and Medicare spending in addition to cost of living, came up with a decidedly different list for the country's most affordable states for retirement.

According to IFW, the top-three most affordable states to retire in were Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. With that said, it's worth mentioning that while different lists might have different ideas as for the best options for retirees, they all generally agree that Hawaii, Alaska, New York, Massachusetts, and California are among the least affordable states.