A new state-by-state analysis from MoneyLion lays out what it actually costs to retire comfortably across the country, and the numbers are sobering. Hawaii tops the list at $181,505 per year for a comfortable retirement. West Virginia sits at the bottom, at $58,117. The gap between them is enormous, but even the cheapest states demand savings rates that most working Americans are nowhere close to hitting.

The study exposes a hard truth for anyone planning to live on fixed income: where you retire may matter almost as much as how much you save, and the interaction of state taxes, cost of living, and Social Security creates wildly different financial realities depending on your zip code.

The MoneyLion study, reported by FOX Business, calculated the monthly savings needed to retire comfortably in each state and territory. The methodology accounted for the national average expenses of retired households, Social Security income, and the age at which a person began saving. The results paint a picture of a retirement landscape that is far more fragmented than most planning tools suggest.

The High-Cost States: Hawaii and California

Hawaii’s numbers are staggering. The annual necessities cost of living for retirees there runs $90,752. The comfortable cost of living figure doubles that to $181,505. Even after accounting for Social Security income, the annual figure is $156,610. A person who starts saving at age 20 would need to set aside $5,800 per month for 45 years to retire comfortably in Hawaii with Social Security. Start at 30, and that jumps to $7,458 per month. Without Social Security, the figures climb to $6,722 and $8,643 per month, respectively.

California is not far behind. The necessities cost of living sits at $73,387 per year. The comfortable retirement figure, accounting for Social Security, is $121,879. Monthly savings targets: $4,514 starting at age 20, or $5,804 starting at 30. Without Social Security, those numbers rise to $5,436 and $6,989.

These are not aspirational lifestyle budgets. They reflect the baseline cost of maintaining a stable, dignified retirement in states where housing, healthcare, and everyday expenses have been climbing for years. For readers who have watched inflation quietly erode the purchasing power of their retirement savings, these figures underscore just how fast the goalposts have moved.

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The Low-Cost Alternative: West Virginia and the Migration Math

West Virginia, at the other end of the spectrum, carries an annual necessities cost of just $29,059. The comfortable retirement figure is $58,117, dropping to $33,223 after Social Security. Monthly savings targets start at $1,230 for someone who begins at age 20 with Social Security, or $1,582 starting at 30. Without Social Security, those figures rise to $2,152 and $2,767.

The difference between retiring in Hawaii and retiring in West Virginia is roughly $123,000 per year in comfortable living costs. That gap is not abstract. It translates directly into how many years of savings a retiree burns through, how much market exposure they need, and how vulnerable they are to inflation, healthcare shocks, or a downturn in equities.

Ted Jenkin, managing partner at Exit Wealth Advisors, told FOX Business that taxes are a critical and often underestimated part of the equation:

“Two of the biggest expenses a retiree needs to look into are the state income taxes and real estate property taxes that will factor into your budget. It’s also why so many people are moving out of places like California and New York, because, beyond the cost of living, it’s very expensive from a taxation perspective.”

That migration pattern is real, and it is reshaping the retirement map. Thomas Aiello, vice president of federal affairs at the National Taxpayers Union, pointed to the structural advantages of tax-friendly states. As the New York Post reported, Aiello told FOX Business:

“Places like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee offer no state income tax, no estate (‘death’) tax, relatively low property taxes, and a policy environment generally more favorable to taxpayers. That can result in thousands of dollars in annual tax savings compared to New York, California or Illinois.”

The Middle Ground: Florida, Texas, and Tennessee

Florida’s necessities cost of living came in at $44,170, with a comfortable cost of $88,339 and a Social Security-adjusted figure of $63,445. Monthly savings targets: $2,350 starting at age 20 with Social Security, or $3,021 at age 30. Those numbers are roughly half of California’s and a third of Hawaii’s.

Tennessee and Texas each landed slightly above $38,300 for necessities, with comfortable cost of living figures just over $76,000, or more than $51,300 after Social Security. These states sit in a sweet spot for retirees seeking lower costs without sacrificing access to healthcare, infrastructure, and community.

The tax angle matters here. Florida, Texas, and Tennessee levy no state income tax. For a retiree drawing down a 401(k), collecting Social Security, or selling appreciated assets, that difference compounds quickly. It is one reason these states keep attracting retirees from the Northeast and West Coast.

What the Numbers Mean for Savers

The MoneyLion data makes one thing painfully clear: the monthly savings rates required to retire comfortably are far beyond what most Americans are putting away. A BlackRock survey found that 63% of Americans have less than $150,000 saved for retirement. Compare that to the study’s finding that even West Virginia, the cheapest state analyzed, requires a nest egg built on $1,230 to $2,767 per month in savings over decades.

For anyone who started late or saved inconsistently, the math is unforgiving. And for those wondering what to do when their savings fall short, the answer increasingly involves some combination of working longer, relocating, or fundamentally rethinking what retirement looks like.

The study also highlights the fragility of Social Security as a planning variable. In Hawaii, Social Security shaves roughly $25,000 off the annual comfortable cost of living. In West Virginia, the reduction is about $25,000 as well, but on a much smaller base, meaning Social Security covers a far larger share of the total. Any future changes to Social Security benefits, cost-of-living adjustments, or eligibility ages would hit high-cost-state retirees hardest in absolute dollar terms. The ongoing uncertainty around Social Security’s COLA and inflation adjustments only adds to the planning challenge.

The Full State-by-State Picture

The MoneyLion study covered all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The necessities cost of living ranged from West Virginia’s $29,059 to Hawaii’s $90,752. Here are some of the key data points across the spectrum:

  • Highest cost: Hawaii ($90,752 necessities), California ($73,387), District of Columbia ($68,709), Massachusetts ($68,020), Washington ($59,997)
  • Mid-range: Florida ($44,170), Arizona ($46,768), Georgia ($40,122), North Carolina ($40,995), Minnesota ($41,513)
  • Lowest cost: West Virginia ($29,059), Mississippi ($30,012), Arkansas ($31,352), Louisiana ($31,232), Alabama ($32,898)

The spread across these states is not just a cost-of-living curiosity. It is a financial planning variable with real consequences for asset allocation, withdrawal rates, and how long a portfolio can survive. A retiree in Mississippi faces a fundamentally different set of risks than one in Massachusetts, even if their portfolios are identical.

Why This Matters for Metals Investors

For readers of this publication, the retirement cost data carries a specific implication. Fixed-income retirees are the most exposed to purchasing-power erosion. When the cost of a comfortable retirement in a mid-range state like Florida runs nearly $90,000 a year, the question is not just how much you saved but what that savings is denominated in and how well it holds its value over a 20- or 30-year drawdown period.

Dollar-denominated savings accounts and bond portfolios face a quiet, persistent drag from inflation that official CPI figures may understate relative to actual retiree expenses. Healthcare, property taxes, insurance, and food costs tend to run hotter than headline inflation for older households. That is the environment in which hard assets and real stores of value earn their place in a retirement portfolio.

The feeling that even $5 million may not feel like enough is not irrational. It reflects a rational assessment of long-duration liabilities in an era of fiscal expansion, persistent deficits, and a monetary system that has shown a consistent bias toward debasement over discipline.

For many older Americans, the retirement crisis is not a future risk. It is a present reality. The MoneyLion data simply puts a number on it, state by state. And for those who find themselves on the wrong side of the gap, the options narrow quickly. Working longer is one path. Relocating to a lower-cost state is another. But neither addresses the underlying problem: a system that makes it extraordinarily difficult to save enough, fast enough, to keep pace with rising costs. That reality is why millions of older Americans simply cannot afford to stop working.

The retirement math is not just a personal finance exercise. It is a stress test of the currency, the policy regime, and the assumptions baked into every financial plan built on nominal returns. When even the cheapest state in America demands decades of disciplined saving, the margin for policy error is thinner than most people realize.