Retiring without Social Security would be difficult for most Americans. And if you’ve spent most of your career living paycheck to paycheck, it might be all but impossible. Yet we know that living off Social Security alone isn’t easy either. The average check was only about $1,979 per month in January 2025. That adds up to less than $24,000 annually. Meanwhile, the average senior household spends just over $60,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

You may be able to pull it off, though, depending on your lifestyle and where you live. Below, we’ll look at the 10 states where Social Security checks will go the furthest.

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The 10 states where Social Security checks cover the most

To determine how far Social Security goes in each state, I compared the average annual benefit in each state to the estimated annual income seniors need to live independently in that state as measured by UMass Boston’s Elder Index. I looked at the data for single adults in good health who owned their homes outright.

Those who live in the following 10 states may be able to cover the expenses of independent living with Social Security and still have some left over:

Data sources: Social Security Administration and UMass Boston’s Elder Index.

There are a few caveats here. First, Colorado and Utah tax the Social Security benefits of some of their residents. The above information doesn’t take this into account. So those affected by these taxes may find their checks don’t go quite as far as the table above indicates.

Second, many seniors aren’t fortunate enough to own their home outright by retirement. Some still have a mortgage while others rent. These two scenarios usually bring higher annual expenses. The average Social Security benefit wasn’t enough in any state to provide the estimated annual income that a renter or homeowner with a mortgage would need to cover all their costs.

Even if you own your home outright and live in one of these states, it’s best not to rely purely on Social Security, if you can help it. Expenses aren’t always predictable. If you have to file an insurance claim or you get sick, you could wind up with unexpected bills that your Social Security checks won’t cover. So it’s always best to supplement with personal savings when you can.

How to stretch your Social Security benefits in every state

If you want your Social Security checks to go as far as possible in retirement, focus on the following three things:

• Work at least 35 years before retiring if you can: The government uses your 35 highest-earning years to calculate your benefit. If you’ve worked fewer years, it’ll add zero-income years to your calculation, shrinking your checks.
• Boost your income as much as you can during your working years: A higher income generally translates to larger Social Security benefits in retirement. However, if you earn more than the Social Security payroll tax cap ($176,100 in 2025), this extra money won’t count toward your checks.
• Choose your claiming age carefully: You can apply for Social Security at any age between 62 and 70. The longer you wait to claim, the larger your checks will be. But waiting generally doesn’t make sense for those with little personal savings and those with short life expectancies.

If you’re already claiming Social Security, your options are more limited. You can withdraw your Social Security application if it’s been less than one year since you signed up. To do this, you must pay back any benefits you and any family members have claimed on your work record. If you’re successful, the government will treat you as if you’ve never signed up. Then, you can apply again later when your checks are larger.

You can also suspend benefits when you reach your full retirement age (FRA) — 66 to 67 for today’s workers. This will stop your benefits until you either turn 70 or request that they start again. When they restart, you’ll get more money per check.

Of course, to do either of those things requires going without your benefits for a while, and that might not be possible. But you’ll still have annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to look forward to.

If you find your benefits don’t go far enough and you lack personal savings, you could always try to supplement with income from a part-time job. Or you can see if you qualify for other government benefits to help you cover your essential costs.

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