Many older Americans will be anxiously wondering where they can settle in the coming years on a tight budget.
There are 20 states where retirees can live “comfortably” on less than $65,000 a year. according to new analysis from GOBankingRates.
This includes rural areas in the South and Midwest, where housing, utilities and groceries tend to be cheaper.
On the other end of the spectrum, the places with the highest costs of living for retirees are states with expensive housing costs.
In Hawaii – the most expensive – a comfortable pension is $129,296 per year, according to the study.
This is a whopping $71,000 more than West Virginia, the cheapest state on the list, at just $58,190.
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To calculate how much it costs to retire comfortably in each state, the study considered five factors across all 50 states.
GOBankingRates looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on how much residents spend on groceries, healthcare, housing, utilities and transportation – and calculated the annual income needed to cover these living costs.
Researchers then added a 20 percent cash buffer so retirees could live “comfortably.”
Many older Americans live on Social Security benefits or a fixed income, which means it’s crucial that they have extra savings to fall back on in an emergency.
Oklahoma follows West Virginia as the cheapest place for Americans to retire comfortably – with a necessary annual income of $59,995.
In Kansas, the study calculated that retirees would need $60,620 to cover their necessary living expenses and still have some money left over – compared to $61,176 in Alabama.
Rounding out the top 11 – all with annual budgets under $63,000 – are Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Tennessee.
The 20 states where Americans can get a comfortable retirement for less than $65,000 a year also include some of the most populous states, such as Georgia, Texas and Illinois.
In Georgia, retirees need an income of $63,398, in Texas they need $64,162, and in Illinois they need an average of $64,787 for a comfortable retirement.
New Mexico just makes the cut – where residents need a median annual income of $64,995 to cover their living costs and have some extra money left over.
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West Virginia is the cheapest state on the list, where Americans can afford a comfortable retirement with an annual income of $58,190
Rounding out the top 11 – all with annual budgets of less than $63,000 – are Mississippi (pictured), Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Tennessee.
Oklahoma follows West Virginia as the cheapest place for Americans to retire comfortably – with a necessary annual income of $59,995 (photo: Oklahoma City)
The average annual cost of comfortable retirement in the US is $66,870, based on CNBC calculations of the data.
The states where retirees need the highest annual income for a comfortable retired life are the states where housing costs are particularly high.
There is a housing shortage in Hawaii, California and Massachusetts, which has caused real estate prices to rise.
This, in turn, means that the annual cost of a comfortable retirement exceeds six figures in all three states.
