How much does it cost to live in US states preferred by retirees?
Some states have a higher percentage of Americans over 65. How much does it cost to live in areas where you can find the largest number of retirees?
The Social Security Administration issues nearly 70 million paychecks per month to beneficiaries of the Social Security program, most of whom are retired workers.
According to a report from personal finance website Go Banking Rates, the areas where older adults decide to live after retirement will be crucial to their having a comfortable transition to retirement. This is because there are states where the cost of living is cheaper compared to others. There are also certain areas that have a higher average number of retirees.
Below is a list of the states with the highest number of retired people and the cost of living in each of them.
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States preferred by US retirees
According to a study carried out by the Population Reference Office, these are the 10 states that have the highest percentage of citizens over 65 years of age; that is, who have reached or are close to retirement.
- Maine - 21.8% of people over 65 years old
- Florida - 21.3% of people over 65 years old
- West Virginia - 20.9% of people over 65 years old
- Vermont - 20.6% of people over 65 years old
- Delaware - 20.0% of people over 65 years of age
- Montana - 19.7% of people over 65 years old
- Hawaii - 19.6% of people over 65 years old
- New Hampshire - 19.3% of people over 65 years old
- Pennsylvania - 19.1% of people over 65 years old
- South Carolina - 18.7% of people over 65 years old
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How much does it cost to live in US states preferred by retirees?
Although these are the states most inhabited by older adults, not all of them actually offer the best cost-quality of life ratio for retirees, since the cost of living in many of these exceed the average annual amount of what a retired worker in the country receives.
Although the exact amount received in monthly Social Security checks depends on the personal situation of each individual, the SSA indicates that the average for a retired worker in 2023 is $1,827 with the possibility of receiving a maximum of $4,555 dollars per month if they retire at age 70 or later. This comes out to an annual income of $21,924 up to $54,660 as a maximum benefit.
Taking this data into account, here is a list of how much it costs to live in each of the states preferred by retirees, according to Go Banking Rates:
- Maine: Annual cost of living of $77,168
- Florida - Annual cost of living of $68,802
- West Virginia - Annual cost of living of $60,235
- Vermont - Annual cost of living of $77,570
- Delaware - Annual cost of living of $70,676
- Montana - Annual cost of living $70,141
- Hawaii - Annual cost of living of $123,148
- New Hampshire - Annual cost of living of $77,703
- Pennsylvania - Annual cost of living of $65,723
- South Carolina - Annual cost of living of $63,113