Saving for retirement—especially in a city like NYC—can be a daunting idea when you’re already struggling to save for the next week ahead. And when a $100k salary is only worth about $36,000 after taxes and considering the cost of living in NYC, it’s difficult not to break a sweat.
According to experts, people should save enough money to last 30 years in retirement. If you plan to retire early, you’ll need to save for even more. Unfortunately, a new study shows that it takes $1.5 million in savings to cover the expenses for the recommended number of years in retirement in New York.
To find this data, GoBankingRates took a look at the national average annual expenditures for people 65+ years old and the annual Social Security income according to the Social Security Administration’s January 2025 data. From there, they estimated state-level annual expenditures and divided $1.5 million by each state’s estimate and its annual expenditures estimate minus the yearly Social Security income.
GoBankingRates analyzed how far $1.5 million in retirement savings, plus your Social Security, would get you in each state. In New York it will last you about 29 years, just about the advised amount of years to save for. This was based upon the calculated annual cost of living after Social Security which is $50,997 (50,997 x 29 = 1,478,913).
However, $1.5 million in retirement savings, in addition to your Social Security, will get you the furthest in West Virginia: 54 years. Inversely, that same $1.5 million and Social Security will only get you 17 years in Hawaii.
So though NYC was ranked as one of the best places to retire in the U.S., there’s definitely something to say about weighing the pros and cons of where you choose to retire. If you never see yourself leaving the State of New York, maybe you’ll want to consider the two cities in New York that are considered among the cheapest places to retire in the country.
You can explore the full study online to see for yourself how far $1.5 million and your Social Security will get you in each state when the time comes.