Retirement Readiness Index
RRI scores each state from 0 to 100 on how ready its households are for retirement. It combines the share of a 70% income target that the average Social Security benefit covers (35%), the income households aged 65 and over actually report against that same target (35%), local housing costs (20%) and home equity relative to income (10%). Higher is better.
How this differs from other retirement rankings: indices published by insurers score states on savings balances and quality-of-life survey measures. RRI uses only hard federal figures, and it is built around the retirement income households will actually receive — the state-level Social Security benefit and the reported income of people already over 65 — rather than what younger residents have saved so far.
50 states and DC scored
Most ready
West Virginia
56.0 / 100 — Social Security covers 39% of median income
Least ready
Massachusetts
40.5 / 100 — Social Security covers 25% of median income
Average annual benefit
$23,341
Retired-worker benefit, all states
Target used
70% of income
Standard replacement-rate planning benchmark
States most ready for retirement
- 1West VirginiaBenefit $21,587 a year56.0
- 2New MexicoBenefit $21,726 a year55.6
- 3MississippiBenefit $20,740 a year55.3
- 4ArkansasBenefit $21,230 a year54.6
- 5MontanaBenefit $22,444 a year54.3
- 6OklahomaBenefit $22,149 a year53.8
- 7AlabamaBenefit $21,961 a year53.5
- 8South CarolinaBenefit $23,348 a year53.2
- 9WyomingBenefit $23,982 a year52.8
- 10KentuckyBenefit $21,353 a year52.7
- 11LouisianaBenefit $21,043 a year52.6
- 12IdahoBenefit $23,006 a year52.3
States with the widest retirement gap
- 1MassachusettsBenefit $24,616 a year40.5
- 2MarylandBenefit $25,297 a year41.4
- 3New JerseyBenefit $25,734 a year41.4
- 4CaliforniaBenefit $22,855 a year42.4
- 5VirginiaBenefit $24,203 a year43.2
- 6New HampshireBenefit $25,633 a year43.6
- 7WashingtonBenefit $24,747 a year44.0
- 8New YorkBenefit $23,443 a year44.6
- 9ConnecticutBenefit $25,884 a year44.7
- 10ColoradoBenefit $24,469 a year44.8
- 11AlaskaBenefit $22,962 a year45.4
- 12MinnesotaBenefit $24,672 a year45.4
| State | RRI | Median income | Income 65+ | Social Security / year | Replacement rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 56.0 | $55,967 | $45,258 | $21,587 | 39% |
| New Mexico | 55.6 | $59,276 | $49,927 | $21,726 | 37% |
| Mississippi | 55.3 | $53,929 | $43,364 | $20,740 | 38% |
| Arkansas | 54.6 | $57,307 | $44,952 | $21,230 | 37% |
| Montana | 54.3 | $66,499 | $52,034 | $22,444 | 34% |
| Oklahoma | 53.8 | $61,995 | $50,528 | $22,149 | 36% |
| Alabama | 53.5 | $60,746 | $47,465 | $21,961 | 36% |
| South Carolina | 53.2 | $64,338 | $50,877 | $23,348 | 36% |
| Wyoming | 52.8 | $73,566 | $56,622 | $23,982 | 33% |
| Kentucky | 52.7 | $61,383 | $46,939 | $21,353 | 35% |
| Louisiana | 52.6 | $59,065 | $44,701 | $21,043 | 36% |
| Idaho | 52.3 | $70,652 | $54,198 | $23,006 | 33% |
| Tennessee | 52.1 | $65,748 | $50,312 | $22,601 | 34% |
| South Dakota | 51.6 | $68,956 | $51,747 | $22,696 | 33% |
| North Carolina | 51.2 | $68,149 | $51,302 | $23,137 | 34% |
| Kansas | 51.0 | $72,048 | $56,144 | $23,956 | 33% |
| Michigan | 51.0 | $69,647 | $52,807 | $23,881 | 34% |
| Indiana | 50.7 | $68,679 | $50,499 | $23,527 | 34% |
| Missouri | 50.7 | $67,554 | $49,832 | $22,535 | 33% |
| Ohio | 50.6 | $68,157 | $50,947 | $22,539 | 33% |
| Iowa | 50.4 | $71,553 | $53,016 | $23,368 | 33% |
| Arizona | 50.3 | $73,680 | $58,279 | $23,839 | 32% |
| Nevada | 50.2 | $72,001 | $56,243 | $22,931 | 32% |
| Delaware | 50.1 | $79,968 | $64,863 | $25,733 | 32% |
| Nebraska | 50.0 | $72,872 | $54,596 | $23,544 | 32% |
| Wisconsin | 49.9 | $73,510 | $53,322 | $23,823 | 32% |
| Maine | 49.8 | $69,684 | $50,418 | $22,299 | 32% |
| North Dakota | 49.8 | $73,893 | $53,543 | $22,734 | 31% |
| Vermont | 49.4 | $75,499 | $57,178 | $23,803 | 32% |
| Florida | 49.3 | $68,353 | $52,362 | $23,154 | 34% |
| Oregon | 48.9 | $78,474 | $59,004 | $23,557 | 30% |
| Pennsylvania | 47.5 | $75,594 | $52,584 | $23,919 | 32% |
| Utah | 47.4 | $87,698 | $66,845 | $24,129 | 28% |
| Georgia | 47.2 | $73,491 | $54,032 | $22,487 | 31% |
| Hawaii | 46.9 | $95,192 | $82,797 | $23,697 | 25% |
| Texas | 46.8 | $74,723 | $55,454 | $22,536 | 30% |
| Rhode Island | 46.7 | $81,219 | $55,556 | $23,922 | 29% |
| Illinois | 45.8 | $80,593 | $56,930 | $23,602 | 29% |
| Minnesota | 45.4 | $86,197 | $58,722 | $24,672 | 29% |
| Alaska | 45.4 | $86,775 | $67,524 | $22,962 | 26% |
| Colorado | 44.8 | $89,744 | $65,146 | $24,469 | 27% |
| Connecticut | 44.7 | $91,446 | $66,764 | $25,884 | 28% |
| New York | 44.6 | $86,050 | $57,153 | $23,443 | 27% |
| Washington | 44.0 | $93,119 | $64,094 | $24,747 | 27% |
| New Hampshire | 43.6 | $91,699 | $61,467 | $25,633 | 28% |
| Virginia | 43.2 | $95,667 | $71,454 | $24,203 | 25% |
| California | 42.4 | $94,761 | $66,566 | $22,855 | 24% |
| New Jersey | 41.4 | $98,335 | $66,535 | $25,734 | 26% |
| Maryland | 41.4 | $101,639 | $75,164 | $25,297 | 25% |
| Massachusetts | 40.5 | $98,752 | $61,506 | $24,616 | 25% |
Data sources & methodology
- Social Security Administration — Average monthly retirement benefit and beneficiary counts by state OASDI beneficiaries by state
- U.S. Census Bureau — Median household income, income of households aged 65+, median gross rent American Community Survey
- U.S. Census Bureau — Median home value used as the home-equity component ACS housing tables
RRI = 35% Social Security replacement of a 70% income target + 35% actual income of households aged 65+ against that target + 20% housing-cost advantage (state median rent versus the national median) + 10% home equity relative to income. States missing any input are excluded rather than estimated.
Think Bigger Today aggregates data from 2 federal and public sources. Our cross-referenced indices are calculated in-house and are not published anywhere else.