States That Financially Support Retirement The Best

States’ support of financial preparedness for retirement varies dramatically. Delaware ranks highest overall, followed by Virginia and Connecticut. Meanwhile, West Virginia has the most affordable lifestyle for retirees, and the highest homeownership rate.

Retirement readiness isn’t just about how much you’ve saved. It’s also about whether you own your home, how far your money goes, and how much support your state provides. Our previous roundups looked at the best states to retire because they were growing, or had senior-friendly diversions. Now we're looking at the states that financially support people's ability to retire.

Planning for retirement is one of the most important steps seniors and their families can take to secure long-term comfort and care. Financial readiness isn’t just about the money; it’s about choice, dignity, and independence. 

We analyzed the average retirement income, savings, homeownership rates, and annual cost of a comfortable retirement to find which states best support their residents’ retirements.

Delaware's respectable average retirement income of $31,300/household, high homeownership rate (per the most recent census, 75% of Delaware residents own their homes), and personal savings give Delaware seniors more breathing room in retirement.

The average retirement income per household is the eighth-highest in the country, and Delaware’s lack of shopping tax can help senior residents hold onto more of their income. Social Security isn’t taxed, and Delaware retirees over 60 can deduct up to $12,500 from qualified retirement plans like 401(k)s from their taxable income.  Seniors who are still working could see an additional $6,000 senior deduction, as explored in our piece about Medicare and Congressional changes.

The relatively low cost of living also helps seniors in Delaware prepare their retirement funds. For example, the average grocery spend is $7,079 /person, which is over 16% lower than in Colorado and California.

Virginia combines a strong average retirement income with a good retirement savings balance. A little over 70% of Virginia seniors own their homes.

While the cost of a comfortable retirement isn’t the lowest in the U.S. (that title goes to the state’s hilly neighbor, West Virginia), the comfort level of a Virginia retirement  is boosted by the fact that residents are able to save more in the lead-up to their retirement. 

The average amount Virginians saved to retire is $492,965, the sixth-highest retirement nest egg amount in the country. This could be down to a number of reasons, like Virginia’s high median household income ($89,931 – almost 15% higher than the national average). 

Connecticut has the highest average retirement savings in the country, helped by a mixture of high income and tax initiatives. For the 2024/25 financial year, the state announced that those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $75,000 are partially exempt from the Social Security income tax. 

Connecticut is also one of nine states that allows automatic enrollment in public sector retirement plans, such as 401(k)s. This means that, unless the individual opts out, all employees have their wages automatically deducted to contribute to their retirement plan.

Having savings in place helps cover the costs that Social Security won’t. Savings provide flexibility if unexpected expenses come up in retirement.

We’ve looked at the average savings people have when retiring in each state and compared this to the amount they could need, taking the average cost of a comfortable retirement over 20 years.

On average, retirees in Connecticut save up $545,754 for retirement, which is over 52% more than those in Utah or North Dakota. Possibly due to those automatic 401(k) enrollments.

The amount of savings Connecticut retirees have could also be due to the high income throughout the state, allowing people to put more into their retirement plans while they work. As of 2025, Connecticut has the highest personal income per capita in the U.S., at $95,780. 

Seniors in New Jersey save $514,245 toward their retirement, making New Jersey the state with the second-largest retirement savings.

Thinking about moving to New Jersey a few years before you retire? As long as you own the home and live there for a full 12 months, there’s some property benefits you can take advantage of. The Stay NJ program offers residents aged 65 and over a payback of 50% of their property tax bills in 2026. 

Savings like these can make it easier to afford future needs like memory care, in-home support, or customized senior living options.

Even in the states where retirees grow the biggest nest eggs, the cost of essential health care provisions means many retirees fall short of what they need for two decades of comfortable retirement. 

While Connecticut seniors save up an impressive amount, that sum covers only about a third of the estimated 20-year cost for retiring in Connecticut .

This issue is only exacerbated in states like Hawaii, where wages are low and retirement expenses are high (as covered in our Cost of Aging in Place roundup).  On average, Hawaii’s retirees have saved up $366,776 to retire, but they may need over $2.5 million to live comfortably in paradise for the next 20 years. 

The only other states where seniors need $2 million to retire are California ($2,013,740 to retire comfortably for 20 years) and Massachusetts ($2,004,020).

However, our findings  considered only monetary assets, rather than physical assets such as property, so that is something to keep in mind when assessing your finances for retirement. 

Not every state has sky-high living costs. In places where housing, food, and health care are more affordable, your money can go further, even if you haven’t saved millions.

Here are the 10 states with the lowest cost of a comfortable retirement, taking into account spending on groceries and utilities, health care, housing, and transportation.

West Virginia is the most affordable state in which to retire, thanks to a combination of low property costs and lower daily spending on things like groceries and utilities. On average, seniors here would need $58,190 a year to afford the essentials, with money left over to truly enjoy their retirement. 

Oklahoma and Kansas are two other states with low retirement costs, at $59,995 and $60,620 annually, respectively. This is over 15% lower than the cost of retiring in nearby states like Colorado.

In some parts of the country, the cost of living is so high that even big savings can disappear quickly. Housing, health care and everyday expenses can push annual retirement costs above $100,000.

Hawaii is a beautiful place to retire, but the prices are steep, with annual retirement costs at about $129,296  – over double what’s needed to retire in West Virginia. The archipelago has the highest cost of living in the U.S., often due to transportation and housing costs.

Saving pre-retirement in Hawaii can be tricky, too, as the state has the highest state income taxes in the nation, and residents face the lowest disposable incomes – a mere $9,550/ year according to Forbes.

California and Massachusetts also have retirement costs on the higher side. The annual cost of retiring in California comes to $100,687, while retiring in Massachusetts comes to $100,201 – over 33% more than the U.S. average of $71,506.  

These retirement costs could climb as retirees need more help in their later life. On average, home health care costs $89,232/ year in California, and for Massachusetts that annual cost is an only marginally lower $86,944. Assisted living in these states costs an annual $88,200/year and $108,696/year respectively.

It’s important to assess all available options to find which best meets your needs, financially and socially. Does the state where you plan to retire make the list of Most Affordable States for Senior Care?

Owning your home in retirement often means lower monthly costs and more flexibility. It also gives seniors the option to downsize, rent out part of the home for passive income, or access equity when needed. Here’s where the highest rate of people own their homes. 

Not only do West Virginian retirees need the least money to live comfortably, they also lead the U.S. in homeownership rates. With some of the most affordable housing in the U.S., almost four-fifths (79.1%) of West Virginian adults own their homes. 

Over three in four adults in Mississippi (75.8%) and Delaware (75.1%) are homeowners. This can give seniors in these states more than just a roof over their heads; homeownership can also offer independence, stability, and an asset that can support their care and lifestyle needs as they age.

Wherever you choose to spend retirement, having access to the right support can make all the difference. Explore our expert-curated senior care resources to help plan for every stage of aging.

As part of an ongoing commitment to making sure seniors have the information they need, we sourced and analyzed extensive data on retirement income, savings, and expenditures to highlight how prepared each U.S. state is for its later years. 

We used Wisevoter data to find the average retirement income and combined this with data on the average retirement savings and the average amount needed to retire comfortably in each state from GoBankingRates.

Lastly, we used Census data to find the average homeownership rate by state. 

All data was collected in July 2025 and is correct as of then.

• Arky, J. (2024). How much a comfortable retirement will cost you in each state. GoBankingRates
• Auto enrollment FAQ. (2025). IRS
• Automatic enrollment map. (n.d.). NAGDCA
• Average retirement income by state. (n.d.). Wisevoter
• Csiszar, John. (2024). The Average retirement savings in every state. GoBankingRates
• Food expenditure series. (2025). U.S. Department of Agriculture
• GDP and personal income. (2025). BEA
• Homeownership rates by state. (2024). United States Census Bureau
• Neufeld, Dorothy. (2025). U.S. housing affordability by state. Visual Capitalist
• Poole, Heather.(2023). Income tax exemptions for retirement income. Office of Legislative Research
• Rothstein, Robin. (2024). Examining the cost of living by state. Forbes Advisor
• Stay NJ – property tax relief for senior citizens. (2025). Division of Taxation
• Virginia income. (2023). United States Census Bureau
• Washington, Katelyn. (2024). Delaware tax guide. Kiplinger