How Far $1.5 Million Plus Social Security Goes Toward Retirement in Your State
How Far $1.5 Million Plus Social Security Goes Toward Retirement in Your State
J. David HermanThu, February 26, 2026 at 1:09 PM UTC
0
eric1513 / Getty Images
Many Americans can only dream of building a $1.5 million nest egg to supplement their Social Security benefits — and even that much may not guarantee lifelong financial security, depending on where you live.
A new GOBankingRates analysis highlights just how dramatically costs vary across the country. In the most expensive state, a $1.5 million retirement fund would run out roughly three times faster than in the least expensive one.
To calculate how long $1.5 million might last in every state, GOBankingRates blended data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Social Security Administration and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
Also see how long $1 million will last.
Key Findings -
Dramatic variances in the cost of living across the U.S. cause the longevity of a $1.5 million retirement fund to range from about 17 years to over 54 years.
Social Security and a $1.5 million nest egg will vanish most quickly in Hawaii. With famously high living expenses, the Aloha State would eat up that amount in only 17.4 years.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, such a stake could last you 54.3 years in Oklahoma. States with annual post-Social Security costs under $32,000 generally enable a $1.5 million nest egg to last close to 50 years or more.
Many Midwestern and Southern states cluster tightly in the middle range, with $1.5 million lasting approximately 45-49 years.
No state other than Hawaii reduces the longevity of $1.5 million below 20 years, but several states fall near or below the 30-year mark.
Here’s a state-by-state breakdown.
Check Out: How Much You Need To Be in the Top 5% in Every State
Find Out: 5 Clever Ways Retirees Are Earning Up To $1K per Month From Home
Advertisement
Alabama -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $29,800
How many years $1.5 million will last: 50.4 years
See More: Check Out the Median Salary of Americans Your Age in Every State
Anfisa Tukane / Getty Images/iStockphotoAlaska -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $54,249
How many years $1.5 million will last: 27.7 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphotoArizona -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $42,639
How many years $1.5 million will last: 35.2 years
RoschetzkyIstockPhoto / Getty Images/iStockphotoArkansas -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $30,660
How many years $1.5 million will last: 48.9 years
stellalevi / Getty ImagesCalifornia -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $59,778
How many years $1.5 million will last: 25.1 years
Colorado -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $38,891
How many years $1.5 million will last: 38.6 years
See This: How Long $2 Million in Retirement Will Last in Every State
©ZillowConnecticut -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $45,895
How many years $1.5 million will last: 32.7 years
Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture / Wikimedia CommonsDelaware -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $38,953
How many years $1.5 million will last: 38.6 years
aimintang / iStock.comFlorida -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $36,926
How many years $1.5 million will last: 40.7 years
Jacob Boomsma / Getty Images/iStockphotoGeorgia -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,195
How many years $1.5 million will last: 46.6 years
©iStock.comHawaii -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $86,194
How many years $1.5 million will last: 17.4 years
Discover More: How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every State?
Kirk Fisher / Getty ImagesIdaho -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $36,618
How many years $1.5 million will last: 41.0 years
pabradyphoto / iStock.comIllinois -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $34,714
How many years $1.5 million will last: 43.3 years
Ultima_Gaina / Getty Images/iStockphotoIndiana -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $31,458
How many years $1.5 million will last: 47.7 years
Wirestock / Getty Images/iStockphotoIowa -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $31,274
How many years $1.5 million will last: 48.0 years
Oleksii Liskonih / Getty Images/iStockphotoKansas -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $30,414
How many years $1.5 million will last: 49.4 years
Explore More: Here’s the Living Wage a Family of Four Must Have in Every State
©ZillowKentucky -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,257
How many years $1.5 million will last: 46.5 years
Larry Gibson / iStock.comLouisiana -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,748
How many years $1.5 million will last: 45.8 years
Photo Italia LLC / Getty Images/iStockphotoMaine -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $45,956
How many years $1.5 million will last: 32.7 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphotoMaryland -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $48,843
How many years $1.5 million will last: 30.8 years
APCortizasJr / Getty ImagesMassachusetts -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $68,440
How many years $1.5 million will last: 22.0 years
Also See: Salary Needed To Achieve the American Dream in the 50 Largest Cities
©iStock.comMichigan -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $33,977
How many years $1.5 million will last: 44.2 years
Jacob Boomsma / Getty Images/iStockphotoMinnesota -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $33,670
How many years $1.5 million will last: 44.6 years
©iStock.comMississippi -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $28,325
How many years $1.5 million will last: 53.0 years
Art Wager / iStock.comMissouri -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $30,475
How many years $1.5 million will last: 49.3 years
Montana -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $43,253
How many years $1.5 million will last: 34.7 years
Find More: What Salary Single People Need To Live Comfortably in 100 Major US Cities
marekuliasz / iStock.comNebraska -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,073
How many years $1.5 million will last: 46.8 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty ImagesNevada -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $36,373
How many years $1.5 million will last: 41.3 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty ImagesNew Hampshire -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $42,885
How many years $1.5 million will last: 35.0 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphotoNew Jersey -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $46,202
How many years $1.5 million will last: 32.5 years
ElFlacodelNorte / Getty Images/iStockphotoNew Mexico -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,625
How many years $1.5 million will last: 46.0 years
Explore More: The Salary Needed To Afford America’s 50 Biggest Cities
FilippoBacci / Getty Images/iStockphotoNew York -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $53,574
How many years $1.5 million will last: 28.0 years
North Carolina -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $35,636
How many years $1.5 million will last: 42.1 years
Guy RD / Shutterstock.comNorth Dakota -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $31,888
How many years $1.5 million will last: 47.1 years
Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphotoOhio -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,810
How many years $1.5 million will last: 45.8 years
DenisTangneyJr / iStock.comOklahoma -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $27,649
How many years $1.5 million will last: 54.3 years
Strekoza2 / Getty Images/iStockphotoOregon -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $44,482
How many years $1.5 million will last: 33.8 years
Wirestock / Getty Images/iStockphotoPennsylvania -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $35,451
How many years $1.5 million will last: 42.4 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphotoRhode Island -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $45,465
How many years $1.5 million will last: 33.0 years
omersukrugoksu / Getty Images/iStockphotoSouth Carolina -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,625
How many years $1.5 million will last: 46.0 years
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphotoSouth Dakota -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $32,195
How many years $1.5 million will last: 46.6 years
Jonathan Ross / Getty Images/iStockphotoTennessee -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $31,274
How many years $1.5 million will last: 48.0 years
f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphotoTexas -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $31,581
How many years $1.5 million will last: 47.5 years
©ZillowUtah -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $36,680
How many years $1.5 million will last: 40.9 years
marchello74 / iStock.comVermont -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $45,649
How many years $1.5 million will last: 32.9 years
ferrantraite / Getty ImagesVirginia -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $37,294
How many years $1.5 million will last: 40.3 years
Washington -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $45,772
How many years $1.5 million will last: 32.8 years
ablokhin / iStock.comWest Virginia -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $29,922
How many years $1.5 million will last: 50.2 years
Ultima_Gaina / Getty ImagesWisconsin -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $35,820
How many years $1.5 million will last: 41.9 years
Ingo Dörenberg / iStock.comWyoming -
Annual cost of living after Social Security: $34,346
How many years $1.5 million will last: 43.7 years
Methodology: GOBankingRates determined how long $1.5 million would last in retirement nationwide by first identifying the national average annual expenditures for adults 65 and older using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey, along with average annual Social Security income from the Social Security Administration’s December 2025 data. It then estimated annual spending for each state by adjusting the national figure according to that state’s cost-of-living index from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center for Q3 2025. Using these state-level estimates, GOBankingRates calculated the longevity of $1.5 million in every state by dividing the total amount by both the average annual expenditures and by expenditures minus expected yearly Social Security income. All data was collected Jan. 22, 2026.
More From GOBankingRates
6 Kirkland Clothing Items You Should Buy in February To Maximize Savings
Jerry Seinfeld's Social Security Check vs. the Average American's
9 Low-Effort Ways To Make Passive Income (You Can Start This Week)
6 Safe Accounts Proven to Grow Your Money Up to 13x Faster
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Far $1.5 Million Plus Social Security Goes Toward Retirement in Your State
Source: “AOL Money”
