If You Have $250,000 Savings Going Into Retirement, Here's How Long You Could Live In Connecticut

Saving for retirement is something you'll hear every financial expert urge as one of the most important things that everyone needs to do to prepare for the future. However, not everyone takes note of this as early as one would be required to in order to retire with multiple millions of dollars, and thus has to take their permanent vacation with much less of a nest egg. At the same time, due to how expensive it has become to live in the United States, it's understandable that some people may have to chip away at their retirement account over time in order to afford things like an emergency car fix or significant medical bills.

Whatever the case may be, it's reasonable to suggest in this situation it's likely you'd be going into retirement with closer to $250,000 in savings and Social Security as opposed to several million dollars. That being the case, the options of where you can retire are going to be somewhat limited, as it definitely wouldn't be wise to attempt to do so in one of the most expensive states to live in. But seeing as a state like Connecticut isn't among this list, how long would one be able to last there with only $250,000 in savings?

Although Connecticut doesn't rank within the top five most expensive states in the country, that doesn't necessarily mean it's outrageously affordable either by today's standards. That being said, let's take a look at some data to see just how expensive it actually is to live there compared to the rest of the U.S. by major expense metrics like rent, utilities, food, and more.

As of 2024, the cost of housing in Connecticut, whether it be renting or owning, is 23% higher than the national average. The cost of utilities isn't any better either, coming in at a whopping 31% higher than the national average. However, while goods and services are 10% higher than the national average, food and transportation are only 2% higher, and healthcare is only 9% higher. Knowing this much, it would be pretty reasonable to suggest that if one were to retire in Connecticut with only $250,000 in savings, they might be able to stretch that money further somewhere else in the country. Regardless, for anyone considering doing so, let's see how long you would be able to make it work.

Connecticut is definitely not an inexpensive place to live in. In fact, you'd need to earn more in the state of Connecticut than any other to be in the top 1% of earners, a truth that cements this idea further. That being said, if you are someone that has lived in this state your whole life and all your friends and family are there, it would make sense that when your time to retire comes around, you may want to stay there in order to remain in close proximity to them.

But with only $250,000 in savings and the average Social Security check (which is $1,907 in 2024), how long on average would you be able to last there? Seeing as the average yearly spending in Connecticut is $65,855, you would be able to comfortably afford retirement there for a total of 5.8 years. However, with the average retirement age in the U.S. somewhere between 64 and 66 years, and the average life expectancy at 77.5 years per the CDC's website, 5.8 years isn't quite enough time between retirement and death on average. Not to sound too morbid, but just being realistic. So this being the case, if you do find yourself in the situation that you must retire in Connecticut with $250,000 in savings and the average Social Security check, you may have to explore alternative options in order to do so.