Your FIRE number depends on your spending, and your spending depends heavily on where you live. Using the federal government’s official measure of price levels by state, we calculated what the same lifestyle costs, and what it takes to retire on it, in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
The headline: a lifestyle that costs $60,000 a year at national-average prices needs about $1,304,055 to retire on in Arkansas, but about $1,660,800 in California. That’s a gap of about $356,745 for the same standard of living.
How we calculated it
We started from a household spending $60,000 a year at national-average prices, a typical retirement budget for a couple. (The average US household spent $78,535 in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that includes payroll taxes and retirement savings that stop when you retire.)
We then adjusted that spending with each state’s Regional Price Parity (RPP) for 2024, published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in February 2026. An RPP of 110 means prices are 10% above the national average. Finally, we applied the 4% and 3.5% withdrawal rates.
All 50 states and DC, cheapest to most expensive
| State | Prices | Spending | FIRE at 4% | FIRE at 3.5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 86.9 | $52,162 | $1,304,055 | $1,490,349 |
| Mississippi | 87.0 | $52,172 | $1,304,295 | $1,490,623 |
| Iowa | 87.8 | $52,657 | $1,316,430 | $1,504,491 |
| Oklahoma | 87.8 | $52,706 | $1,317,645 | $1,505,880 |
| Louisiana | 88.2 | $52,924 | $1,323,105 | $1,512,120 |
| South Dakota no income tax | 88.6 | $53,152 | $1,328,790 | $1,518,617 |
| Alabama | 88.8 | $53,294 | $1,332,345 | $1,522,680 |
| North Dakota | 89.0 | $53,375 | $1,334,385 | $1,525,011 |
| West Virginia | 89.5 | $53,698 | $1,342,455 | $1,534,234 |
| Kansas | 90.1 | $54,041 | $1,351,020 | $1,544,023 |
| Nebraska | 90.1 | $54,062 | $1,351,545 | $1,544,623 |
| Kentucky | 90.2 | $54,095 | $1,352,385 | $1,545,583 |
| Missouri | 90.8 | $54,490 | $1,362,255 | $1,556,863 |
| Tennessee no income tax | 91.9 | $55,122 | $1,378,050 | $1,574,914 |
| New Mexico | 92.2 | $55,327 | $1,383,180 | $1,580,777 |
| Wyoming no income tax | 92.7 | $55,615 | $1,390,365 | $1,588,989 |
| Ohio | 92.8 | $55,664 | $1,391,610 | $1,590,411 |
| Indiana | 93.3 | $55,997 | $1,399,935 | $1,599,926 |
| South Carolina | 93.7 | $56,249 | $1,406,235 | $1,607,126 |
| Wisconsin | 94.1 | $56,457 | $1,411,425 | $1,613,057 |
| North Carolina | 94.3 | $56,596 | $1,414,890 | $1,617,017 |
| Montana | 94.6 | $56,787 | $1,419,675 | $1,622,486 |
| Idaho | 95.5 | $57,296 | $1,432,410 | $1,637,040 |
| Michigan | 96.2 | $57,730 | $1,443,255 | $1,649,434 |
| Georgia | 96.3 | $57,776 | $1,444,395 | $1,650,737 |
| Maine | 97.0 | $58,230 | $1,455,750 | $1,663,714 |
| Texas no income tax | 97.1 | $58,234 | $1,455,855 | $1,663,834 |
| Pennsylvania | 97.6 | $58,543 | $1,463,580 | $1,672,663 |
| Vermont | 98.0 | $58,775 | $1,469,370 | $1,679,280 |
| Minnesota | 98.6 | $59,173 | $1,479,315 | $1,690,646 |
| Utah | 98.9 | $59,318 | $1,482,960 | $1,694,811 |
| Delaware | 99.8 | $59,885 | $1,497,120 | $1,710,994 |
| Illinois | 100.0 | $59,975 | $1,499,370 | $1,713,566 |
| Nevada no income tax | 100.0 | $59,987 | $1,499,685 | $1,713,926 |
| Arizona | 100.7 | $60,406 | $1,510,155 | $1,725,891 |
| Virginia | 101.1 | $60,662 | $1,516,560 | $1,733,211 |
| Rhode Island | 102.3 | $61,368 | $1,534,200 | $1,753,371 |
| Alaska no income tax | 102.4 | $61,415 | $1,535,385 | $1,754,726 |
| Colorado | 103.1 | $61,831 | $1,545,780 | $1,766,606 |
| Oregon | 103.4 | $62,017 | $1,550,415 | $1,771,903 |
| Florida no income tax | 103.4 | $62,048 | $1,551,210 | $1,772,811 |
| Connecticut | 103.6 | $62,166 | $1,554,150 | $1,776,171 |
| New Hampshire no income tax | 104.2 | $62,499 | $1,562,475 | $1,785,686 |
| Maryland | 105.0 | $62,975 | $1,574,385 | $1,799,297 |
| Massachusetts | 105.8 | $63,454 | $1,586,355 | $1,812,977 |
| Washington no income tax | 107.0 | $64,208 | $1,605,195 | $1,834,509 |
| New York | 107.9 | $64,753 | $1,618,815 | $1,850,074 |
| New Jersey | 108.8 | $65,283 | $1,632,075 | $1,865,229 |
| District of Columbia | 109.9 | $65,941 | $1,648,515 | $1,884,017 |
| Hawaii | 110.0 | $65,971 | $1,649,265 | $1,884,874 |
| California | 110.7 | $66,432 | $1,660,800 | $1,898,057 |
Sorted from least to most expensive. Prices: BEA Regional Price Parities, all items, 2024 (US = 100). Spending: the same $60,000/yr lifestyle at national prices, adjusted by price level. Figures exclude taxes and health insurance.
What drives the differences
Most of the gap comes from housing. Prices for goods like groceries and cars vary relatively little between states; rents and home prices vary enormously. That has two implications for FIRE:
- Homeowners feel it less. If you’ll own your home outright in retirement, your costs depend less on local rents, and the gap between states narrows.
- Averages hide big cities. Price levels within a state vary a lot. Rural areas of expensive states can be cheaper than big cities in inexpensive ones.
Geographic arbitrage
Many FIRE followers plan to earn in a high-wage, high-cost area and retire somewhere cheaper. Moving from a state with prices 10% above average to one 10% below cuts a $1.5 million FIRE number by more than $250,000, which can take years off your timeline. It works best when the move is something you’d enjoy anyway: closer to family, a better climate or a slower pace.
Don’t forget taxes
This comparison covers prices only. Nine states have no broad income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming (though Washington taxes large capital gains). Many other states partly or fully exempt Social Security or retirement income. If you retire on mostly Roth money or long-term capital gains, state taxes may matter less than prices.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 data (released February 19, 2026), via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures in 2024.
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Common questions
Which state has the lowest FIRE number?
Based on 2024 price levels, Arkansas, where prices are about 13% below the national average. A lifestyle costing $60,000 nationally would cost about $52,162 there, for a FIRE number of about $1,304,055 at 4%.
Which state has the highest FIRE number?
California, with prices about 11% above the national average, followed by Hawaii and the District of Columbia. The same lifestyle needs about $1,660,800 at 4%.
Does this include state income taxes?
No. It compares prices only. Taxes on retirement income vary by state, and nine states have no broad income tax on wages. Add your state’s rate in the full calculator to see its effect.
What is a Regional Price Parity?
It’s the government’s measure of how expensive a place is compared with the national average, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 100 is average; 110 means prices are 10% higher.
This guide is for education, not personal financial or tax advice. Examples use simplified assumptions, such as a steady 5% return after inflation, that real markets won’t follow. Tax figures are for the 2026 tax year.