Want To Retire Early? These Are the 10 Fastest and Slowest States for Retirement
- - Want To Retire Early? These Are the 10 Fastest and Slowest States for Retirement
Vance CariagaOctober 28, 2025 at 10:55 PM
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Rudy Balasko / Shutterstock.com
Research from Mass Mutual found that the typical American retires at age 62, which means most people spend about 40 years working before they finally retire.
But a lot depends on how much you have saved for retirement — and your location. You can reach retirement much quicker in some states than in others, according to a recent study from John Stevenson, a Nevada-based financial and retirement advisor.
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One thing the study found is that if you want to retire comfortably, without having to stress over money in your golden years, you might need to build a nest egg of $800,000 or more. If you live where expenses are especially high, you should aim to save more than $1 million.
Unfortunately, most people don’t get anywhere near that goal. According to Federal Reserve data, the average retirement savings for Americans ages 65 to 74 was $200,000 as of 2022, the most recent year data are available.
For their study, John Stevenson’s researchers looked at average incomes and expenses for each state to determine how many years it would take to reach the ideal retirement savings goal.
The number of years ranged from less than 30 to more than 70. This basically means that if you earn an average salary in some states, you’ll either need to retire very late in life, move elsewhere, or depend on more than just your savings to retire comfortably. In the case of Hawaii, expenses are so high that it’s not possible to reach the ideal retirement goal on an average salary, according to the study.
Here’s a look at the 10 fastest and slowest states for retirement.
Also find out how much a comfortable retirement costs in each state in 2025.
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Fastest States for RetirementIllinois -
Years to retire: 26
Retirement goal: $873,646
Average wages: $69,020 per year
Average annual living expenses: $34,893
Minnesota -
Years to retire: 26
Retirement goal: $870,642
Average wages: $68,880
Average annual expenses: $35,911
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Georgia -
Years to retire: 27
Retirement goal: $813,559
Average wages: $64,210
Average annual expenses: $34,180
Michigan -
Years to retire: 29
Retirement goal: $825,577
Average wages: $63,120
Average annual expenses: $34,540
Virginia -
Years to retire: 29
Retirement goal: $948,755
Average wages: $72,060
Average annual expenses: $39,406
Texas -
Years to retire: 29
Retirement goal: $830,083
Average wages: $63,660
Average annual expenses: $35,094
Kansas -
Years to retire: 29
Retirement goal: $741,455
Average wages: $58,230
Average annual expenses: $33,031
Missouri -
Years to retire: 30
Retirement goal: $776,005
Average wages: $59,630
Average annual expenses: $33,594
Maryland -
Years to retire: 31
Retirement goal: $924,720
Average wages: $76,130
Average annual expenses: $45,944
Colorado -
Years to retire: 31
Retirement goal: $981,803
Average wages: $71,960
Average annual expenses: $40,652
Slowest States for RetirementHawaii -
Years to retire: N/A (not able to retire solely on average wages)
Retirement goal: $2,212,084
Average wages: $68,280
Average annual expenses: $76,828
California -
Years to retire: 71
Retirement goal: $1,612,716
Average wages: $79,900
Average annual expenses: $57,195
Massachusetts -
Years to retire: 71
Retirement goal: $1,645,764
Average wages: $83,050
Average annual expenses: $59,797
Alaska -
Years to retire: 56
Retirement goal: $1,292,753
Average wages: $72,810
Average annual expenses: $49,887
Vermont -
Years to retire: 55
Retirement goal: $1,153,051
Average wages: $66,330
Average annual expenses: $45,500
Maine -
Years to retire: 54
Retirement goal: $1,144,038
Average wages: $63,760
Average annual expenses: $42,393
Arizona -
Years to retire: 48
Retirement goal: $1,133,522
Average wages: $65,740
Average annual expenses: $42,083
Nevada -
Years to retire: 47
Retirement goal: $942,746
Average wages: $60,310
Average annual expenses: $40,354
Idaho -
Years to retire: 47
Retirement goal: $971,288
Average wages: $58,440
Average annual expenses: $37,706
Montana -
Years to retire: 46
Retirement goal: $851,114
Average wages: $58,160
Average annual expenses: $39,468
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Want To Retire Early? These Are the 10 Fastest and Slowest States for Retirement
Source: “AOL Money”
