Exactly How Much Money Do You Need to Retire in Iowa?

If you're imagining a tropical retirement awaits you when you've put in your decades of service, you might want to take a look at some recent data from Bankrate...

The website Bankrate looked at all 50 states to determine the best and worst places to retire, based on how much money it would be necessary to live in those respective states. If you're planning on shacking up in Hawaii during your glory years, check your finances: Bankrate says in order to retire "comfortably" in the island, you're going to need about $2 million saved up. California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey round out the top five, all states you've probably heard boast high taxes and high gas prices alike.

But what about the Tri-States? Where do they rank on the list...

The website The Center Square did offer some insight into what it would take monetarily to retire in the Hawkeye State:

"In Iowa, average retirement spending stands at an estimated $961,471 - the 17th lowest among states. Goods and services in the state are 9.0% less expensive than they are, on average, nationwide, and life expectancy at age 65 is 19.3 years to 84.3, compared to 19.5 years to 84.5 across the country as a whole."

So, in short, you'd need about $1 million to retire comfortably in Iowa, which still ranks in the top half (or bottom half, depending on how you read the list, which descends in price) of the United States in terms of affordability.

Illinois, however, is going to ask a little more of you. $1.06 million is apparently the ballpark figure you'll need to retire to a life of modesty. It might not be any coincidence that people have been leaving Illinois in record numbers for nearly a decade.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin finds itself in the middle of Illinois and Iowa. You would need just under $1 million ($994,278 to be exact) to call it quits in Wisconsin. The most affordably states to retire? West Virginia and Mississippi. But at the end of the day, they're West Virginia and Mississippi... let's be honest.

Now, it's fair to remember that estimated retirement spending doesn't account for retirement savings. You can start collecting Social Security benefits at the age of 62, which can be as high as $3,240/month for qualifying residents. More and more, Americans are looking towards hiring financial advisors and going their own way for retirement planning as opposed to putting their faith in the dwindling pot that is Social Security, which could run out by the mid 2030s.

See the full data from Bankrate here!