Here’s how long you can live in California on $1 million in retirement savings

Have you saved enough to retire comfortably in California?

With high costs for housing, groceries and other expenses, California is one of the most expensive places to retire in the United States, according to a new study by personal finance website GoBankingRates.

“Determining the exact amount of money you need to save to retire comfortably is difficult — and reaching that goal may be even grueling,” GoBankingRates contributor J. Arky wrote in a May 26 article titled “How Long $1 Million in Retirement Will Last in Every State.”

He described $1 million as the “traditional standard for a comfortable retirement.”

On average, American adults estimate they’ll need even more — $1.46 million — to comfortably enjoy their retirement, according to a 2024 study by finance services company Northwestern Mutual.

Here’s how long a million bucks will last you in California:

How long can you live in California on $1 million in savings?

Although $1 million might sound like a big “chunk of change, “It doesn’t last quite as long as you might think it would” depending on where you retire, Arky wrote.

In California, $1 million in retirement savings would last about 9.2 years in 2025, GoBankingRates found, making the Golden State the second-most expensive place for retirees in the nation.

In comparison, GoBankingRates estimated that it’d take retirees about 12 years, eight months and five days to spend $1 million in savings in 2024, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.

Annual expenditures totaled $78,864 in 2024, according to GoBankingRates.

Here’s how annual costs broke down in California in 2025, the personal finance website said:

• Groceries: $5,536 per year
• Housing: $25,000
• Transportation: $6,283
• Health care: $8,554
• Total annual expenditures: $101,718

How do California retirement costs compare to rest of US?

Want to get more bang out of your buck? You should consider moving to the Midwest or the South, according to GoBankingRates.

The study found that $1 million in retirement savings lasts considerably longer in those regions — at least 20 years.

What are most expensive US states for retirees?

Hawaii was the priciest place to retire in 2025, according to GoBankingRates.

The personal finance website estimated that it’d take just 7.3 years to use up $1 million in retirement savings in the Aloha State.

These were the top 10 most expensive states for retirees, and how long it’d take to spend $1 million in retirement savings in each one, GoBankingRates said:

1. Hawaii: 7.3 years
2. California: 9.2 years
3. Massachusetts: 10 years
4. Washington: 12 years
5. New Jersey: 12.5 years
6. New York: 13.1 years
7. Oregon: 13.2 years
8. Colorado: 13.4 years
9. Utah: 13.6 years
   
   
10. New Hampshire: 13.6 years

Where are the cheapest places to retire in US?

These were the 10 U.S. states where $1 million in retirement savings lasts the longest in 2025, according to GoBankingRates:

1. Michigan: 21 years
2. Kentucky: 21.4 years
3. Iowa: 21.6 years
4. Kansas: 21.6 years
5. Louisiana: 22.1 years
6. Alabama: 22.1 years
7. Oklahoma: 22.5 years
8. Arkansas: 22.6 years
9. Mississippi: 23.3 years
10. West Virginia: 24.5 years

How did GoBankingRates come up with findings?

To discover the states where $1 million in retirement savings last the longest, GoBankingRates said it calculated the average cost of living in all 50 states using average mortgage and expenditure costs.

“Assuming $1 million in retirement savings, the number of years to draw down was calculated,” the site said.

Data came from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Missouri Economic Research Information Center, Zillow and the Federal Reserve Economic Data, and was up to date as of Feb. 27.

This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how long you can live in California on $1 million in retirement savings."

Sarah Linn

The Tribune

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Sarah Linn is an editor and reporter on the West Service Journalism Team, working with journalists in Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno, Merced and San Luis Obispo in California and Bellingham, Olympia and Tri-Cities in Washington, as well as Boise, Idaho. She previously served as the Local/Entertainment Editor of The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, working there for nearly two decades. A graduate of Oregon State University, she has earned multiple California journalism awards.