Sure, it sounds like a lot of money, but $1 million just won’t buy what it used to. In fact, that cool million won’t even sustain you for the duration of your retirement.

Unless your retirement is unusually short, that is. And most people hope that won’t be the case.

Statistically, it won’t—which means those bucks have to last for a long, long time. In fact, the average American retirement age, according to GoBankingRates.com, is 63, and retirees’ life expectancy is 85—which means that the average American will spend 22 years retired.

And with 10,000 people turning 65 every day here in the U.S., that’s a lot of people who have to figure out how to get by for the longest time possible on considerably less than a cool million.

Of course, how long that money lasts you depends in large part on where you retire. In some places across the country, you’ll be lucky if it lasts you barely more than a decade—while other places will stretch it for you so that you can get by for more than double that.

It determined that there is a 14-year, five-month difference in the length of time $1 million saved for retirement will last the shortest and the longest. In some states, the cost of living makes it tough to stretch a buck, while in others one—or more than one—factor can contribute notable savings to a retiree’s budget.

Among the considerations in toting up the average expenses for people age 65 and older, GoBankingRates took into account such essentials as groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care to come up with average total expenditures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Next, those averages were multiplied by the cost of living index in each state, from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, to find the average expenditure cost for each state.

Dividing a theoretical $1 million by the costs per state, it adds, reveals the number of years $1 million will last retirees in every state.

Of course, there are other considerations than money to determine where you might be best off once you retire, but read on to discover the 5 states where $1 million will last the longest and the shortest amount of time. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

5 states where $1 million for retirement lasts longer

In Tennessee a retiree's million will last 25 years. (Photo: AP)

5. Tennessee: 25 years

A cool quarter century—that’s how long your million-dollar retirement will last here.

One advantage of the southern tier of states is a lower cost of living than in many other areas of the country, and Tennessee has that in spades.

The cost of housing in the state is just $12,221 per year. But of course it offers other advantages, such as no state income tax and low property taxes.

And if you’re a fan of country music, what’s not to like?

4. Michigan: 25 years

Get ready for another state where you can get by for 25 years on a million.

Health care costs just $5,416 a year in Michigan, and at $3,323, utilities are fairly cheap, too.

The biggest advantage for retirees, however, is the fact that annual housing costs average just $12,330. In total, the estimated cost of living is $39,974 per year, so get ready for that silver anniversary.

3. Oklahoma: 25 years, 2 months

The annual cost of living in Oklahoma is actually under $40,000—one of only four states where that’s the case—and other low costs contribute to making that million last 25 years and two months.

Groceries will run you only $3,201, and transportation costs come in at $6,113.

But the biggest bargain is in housing; Oklahoma boasts the sixth cheapest housing costs in the country, at $11,616. Even if you only have $100,000 saved, says GoBankingRates, your nest egg will stretch far here.

In Arkansas, a retiree's million will last 25 years, 6 months. (Photo: Getty)

2. Arkansas: 25 years, 6 months

Arkansas comes pretty close to the top of the list, with $1 million lasting retirees 25 years and six months.

So if you haven’t saved all that much to get by once you’re not working any longer, you might want to try the Natural State.

At $39,260, the cost of living is cheaper than in all but one other state. Housing costs will run you just $12,004 a year, and groceries a mere $3,100—the fourth-lowest cost in the country.

Everything else is comparatively cheap in Arkansas, too, says GoBankingRates, with healthcare costs the second-lowest in the country at $5,025.

And for transportation, the costs are just $5,997, the lowest amount in the nation.

In Mississippi, a retiree's million will last 26 years, 4 months. (Photo: AP)

1. Mississippi: 26 years, 4 months

Your money will last the longest in Mississippi, where you’ll be able to get by on that million dollars for a grand total of 26 years and four months—the only state in the country where it lasts longer than 26 years.

Not only is Mississippi the cheapest state in the nation, but at $11,134, it also has the lowest housing costs of any state—meaning that you won’t be sinking all your retirement cash into your living quarters.

In total, you'll spend just $37,964 to get through a whole year in Mississippi, where retirees can stretch their money farther than anywhere else.

5 states where $1 million won't last long in retirement

A retiree's million lasts 17 years, 4 months in Massachusetts. (Photo: Shutterstock)

5. Massachusetts: 17 years, 4 months

It’s not the housing that will get you here, it’s the health care.

Not that other things in Massachusetts are cheap, but health care alone will set you back $6,844 per person per year—that’s more than in all but two other states.

Then there are utilities.

At $4,628 a year, utilities will take a big chunk out of that million—and will keep doing it year after year. In fact, says GoBankingRates, only three states pay higher utility bills.

When you add it all up, Massachusetts residents need about $57,795 a year to support the cost of living in the state—so not suitable for a budget of $1 million.

A retiree's million will last 17 years, 1 month in New York. (Photo: AP)

4. New York: 17 years, 1 month

Surprisingly, New York is not at the top—er, bottom—of this list. A million dollars will last you 17 years and a month—a single month longer than it will get you through in Alaska.

New York’s housing is more expensive than any other state in the nation, with the exception of just two, running residents an average of $29,055 per year.

Then there are groceries and transportation, both of which are right up there, at the ninth highest in the country.

Utilities aren’t too bad, but when considered in light of New York’s other costs, you should look elsewhere. Really.

In Alaska, a retiree's million will last 17 years. (Photo: AP)

3. Alaska: 17 years

If you think your retirement will only last 17 years, then consider Alaska.

It will cost you $58,733 for every year you live in Alaska, and part of that is because groceries are so costly.

At least here you can understand it, since the growing season is so short—your supermarket bill every year is second only to Hawaii’s, at $4,651 annually.

Surprisingly, housing isn’t anywhere near as expensive in the other pricey states, running $21,585 a year, but unless you hit the lottery, even at that rate, between groceries and a roof over your head, be prepared to move or die in 17 years.

California's retirees need more than $1 million to last through retirement. (Photo: AP)

2. California: 16 years, 5 months

You’ll have a little more time here to enjoy the beaches and worry about earthquakes; that million-dollar retirement will last you 16 years and five months.

Retirees spend an average of $60,877 annually just to get by—and California is one of only two states in the country that cost them more than $60,000 a year. (You just read about the other one.)

And Hawaii is also the only state to top California when it comes to housing costs.

Although it's nearly $16,000 more forgiving than Hawaii, housing in California is a brutal $30,514 a year.

A funded retirement will be shorter in Hawaii. (Photo: AP)

1. Hawaii: 11 years, 11 months

Live fast if you retire here, because even with a million dollars in your bank account, you’ll run out of money in just 11 years and 11 months.

One might not expect it in a tropical paradise where exotic fruit grows on the trees in your back yard and you can fish for dinner on the beach, but at $5,626 a year, the cost of groceries is by far the highest in the country.

Housing is no bargain, either. At $46,478 a year, housing costs in Hawaii blow away the next-most-expensive state by nearly $16,000 a year.

In all, annual expenditures are nearly $23,000 more in Hawaii than the next-priciest state.

Instant Insights /

5 states where $1 million in retirement lasts, 5 where it doesn't

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